Ladybug and Chat Noir: The New Stories
by jttaylorbat
Summary: This is another OC story! This time its Ladybug and Chat Noir. It features Azure and Silvia along with tons of other OCs you might recoginze from my other work. Unlike my other on going story, I have no plans to turn this into something real. Its just a fun story. Its set in paris and features a new plot. There will be many things that you guys will recoginze from the show! Enjoy!
1. Chapter One: A Good Start

Chapter One: A Good Start

It was winter. It had always been winter. Or at least it seemed like that to fourteen year old Azure Požar. An orphan boy. He lived in one of Paris's smaller orphanages, with few other children at it.

But that's how he liked it. Azure didn't like to talk about his family, or much really. He was a violent child, though he claimed he was trying to help. His efforts were always ignored. So instead of bothering, he sat alone.

Currently he sat in his favorite spot in the orphanage, the top. It was separate from the rest of the house, and a large round window that overlooked Paris. He sat up there and watched cars drive by, or maybe he stared at the Eiffel Tower, or maybe he just sat. In the end though he didn't care what he did, as long as he was alone. Which he was. In all sense of the word.

Though at this moment he was doing none of those three. Recently he'd discovered Batman comics, and was reading them en mass online, having "borrowed" a phone from the women in charge.

The sound of shouting breaks his silence and he clicks the button on the side of the phone, closing the device. He sighs, rubbing his eyes, and checks the time. The phone read three in the morning. Someone must have ratted him out.

"Jerks." He muttered to himself. He swings his legs down to the ladder and starts climbing his way down. A glass of water is at the bottom behind a loose board. He pulled it out and slips the phone in a secret pocket of his pants (he'd attached it himself). Then he starts walking woozily down the hallway just as an angry women rounds the corner.

"POŽAR?" She shrieked. Then spotting him, stormed over, grabbed him and started to drag him back down the hall. "Why were you out of bed?" She demanded.

Azure gently shakes his water, spilling a little. "Water."

She stopped, looked down at him, growled, and let him go. Then she got down to his height. "Don't do it again. You're starting at the new school tomorrow."

Azure nodded numbly, and turned the knob on the door leading to his room. Inside was a bunk bed, the bottom bed had a small lump in it. It was his room mate Damian. Ignoring Damian he walked over to the night stand and set his water down. Then grabbing the top rung of the ladder, he swung his whole body up and onto the bed.

A calm silence fell yet again over him and he smiled. Peace again, and he gently faded off to sleep.

* * *

"Silvia we're going out!" Her mother called from the first floor.

"Okay mom!" She called back from her bed. She was currently scrolling through her phone, reading about Harry Potter. She wasn't surprised they were going out. They were always going out. They were in charge of this big group that ran a lot of something or another. Silvia knew she should care more, since they want her to run it when she's older. But she doesn't want to.

She won't lie, she's a nerd. And proud. She enjoys school too. But what they do, every time they talk about it, dred fills her. She desperately wanted to do more with her life than be a corporate stooge.

Her older brother though was a different story. He not only had the brains she did (well he was a close second), but the desire, the drive, that was needed. Still it was her that was pushed to join her parents.

Loud thumping from the stairs distracted her from her browsing. She frowned and sat up, curious about the sound. Her brother walked much quieter than that, no one she could remember walked up stairs like that.

"Unless…" her eyes slowly dragged themselves to her bookshelf where her brothers book sat. It wasn't just an ordinary book (according to him) it was a magic book. However it seemed like ridiculous nonsense to her. Something about things called Miraculous, a stupid name as well. But he said he needed it for, whatever.

She'd meant to put it back before he discovered she'd taken it, but had forgotten. Now it was too late. Her door flew open, revealing an angry Drey Danvers, Silvia's older brother.

"Where is it Silvia?" He growled, face red.

"Now I was just borrowing it-"

"Where is it?" He asked again, interrupting her before she could finish. Silvia refrained from groaning and got up, crossing to her book shelf.

"Here." She grunted, handing him the heavy brown book. Without even a moment's hesitation he'd snatched the book from her hands, and stormed away.

Silvia shook her head, and shut the door behind him. She walked back to her bed and looked out her window. Gentle flakes of snow had started to fall. It was going to be a snow day tomorrow at school.

* * *

"Gentle snow my left butt cheek!" Viridian shouted loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the school courtyard.

"Oh shush Viridian!" Silvia scolded, but her playful smile not being missed by the green clad boy.

He wore his standard green and black suit, but a heavy pea coat over it. His long untidy black hair hung loose around his face. "Last night you texted me about a gentle snow, and we wake up to almost ten inches of snow!"

"I'm not a weatherman." Silvia countered, Viridian chucked and sat next to her, looking around.

"You aren't kidding." He muttered and then spotted someone he hadn't seen before. "Who's the new kid?"

Silvia followed Viridian's figure till it landed on a boy she'd never seen before. He wore a black jacket and dark blue jeans. He had shaggy brown hair and was barely taller than her.

"I'm not sure, he's starting late in the semester." She whispered.

"His name is Azure Požar." A monotone voice behind them said. Viridian groaned, but Silvia turned around polity. There say Simon Zlo, his notebook open on his lap. His blonde hair neat and tidy, green piercing eyes staring at everything through his glasses.

"Anything else you managed to uncover?" Silvia asked.

Viridian held up an expectant hand, and remarked drly. "More like what doesn't he know."

Simon however ignored the other boy and pressed on. "He's fourteen and is currently in our grade. He's gotten average grades at his previous schools, but that's mostly due to lack of attendance, not intelligence. Furthermore he is a member of the Orphanage for Poorly Behaved. He was sent there a week ago after an incident at his last orphanage."

Silvia smiled happily and turned back to look at the new boy. "You never disappoint Simon."

"Yeah, but tell me, do you know what the incident was?" Viridian taunts. Simon returns Viridian's taunt with piercing look. Viridian pouted slightly. "You could at least frown a little."

"No." Simon said simply. Silvia chuckled to herself, watching the boy play on a phone.

"I'm going to go say hello." She decided.

Viridian shrugged slightly. "I'd be more surprised if you didn't if I'm being honest."

"Based off your last behavior, I would agree with Viridian." Simon included. Viridian turned on his butt to face Simon again.

"Why are you this way?"

"Why am I what way?"

"You know," Viridian waved his arms wildly in hope that Simon would understand his unspoken description. When he did not, Viridian banged his head against the stares. "Silvia can you help me out?"

"She already went to go say hello to the new boy." Simon told him. Viridian looks around and huffed slightly.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Viridian asked. Simon squints and opened his mouth to speak, but was distracted by a girl walking across the campus and into a classroom. Viridian having caught this chuckled playfully.

"You should say…" Viridian took a breath for dramatic effect. "Helllooooo." Then finished with a wink.

Simon however seemed unfazed by the teasing. "No."

"You're no fun dearie, no fun at all."

"I conquer."

"Gross."

* * *

Azure watched the girl approach him slowly out of the corner of his eye. He'd seen her and her black and blonde haired friends when he'd walked in. They'd been chatting about the weather rather loudly.

Actually everyone was talking loudly, and it bothered him. Silence was always prefered. He'd have gone to the library immediately if he could, but it was open in the mornings, so he was stuck in the courtyard with the rest of the rabble. And it appeared as though he was about to be pulled into an unwelcome conversation.

Silvia had reached Azure, holding her hand confidently out she smiled. "Hello, I'm Silvia!"

Azure appraised her silently. A good upbringing, plenty of wealth in her life. Parents well to do then. Her hand shook slightly when she'd held it out. From the cold maybe, but nerves more than likely. Talking to new people was nerve wracking so no judgment. She had good friends as well. He'd had rather been left alone. At least she was pretty.

"Hello." He grunts simply, not taking her hand.

"And your name?" She asked, prompting him to speak more, despite her already knowing it.

Azure wasn't fooled though. "The blonde boy told you."

"What?" She blinked in surprise. "How'd you know that?"

"Wind carries the sound. I heard him."

"Oh…" Silvia scratched the back of her neck, the wind let of her sails slightly.

Azure did however have a question for her, having heard everything the blonde boy had said. "How'd he know?"

"Know what?" She asked.

"My life story." Azure asked. "I'm private, so I didn't tell anyone."

Silvia chuckled. "Honestly I don't know, but Simon seems to know all."

Azure frowned and looked over at the blonde boy as he watched a small girl walk into a classroom. Azure wasn't a fan of him knowing things about him.

"Well, class is starting soon!" Silvia said awkwardly. She tried for a smile and almost succeeded. "I'll see you in there. Just remember, you always have a friend in me."

"You took that from Toy Story?" Azure asked squinting at her suspiciously.

Silvia's face dropped. "Yeah."

* * *

"Damn sister." Drey growls, placing the book back on its alter where it belonged. She didn't even think these were real. But he knew better. Because he'd managed to steal one along with the book. Some old man had been protecting them, but some sleeping pills in his tea and the rest was history.

He hadn't bothered to look at which one he'd grabbed, but from his reading it didn't seem to matter. They were all dangerous. Though the ladybug and cat Miraculous were the strongest apparently.

And if he got those two, he could wish for anything he wanted. Which was exactly what he was going to do.

After making sure the book was secured back in its place he walked over to where he'd been keeping the small box he'd stolen. He gently picked it up, examining it carefully. Nothing about the box indicated which one lay inside. As curious as he was, he dared not open it yet. Not till he was certain he'd gotten away with the crime.

He doubted the old man would call the police, but he wouldn't possibly find allies to help him search for the Miraculous. And Drey wanted to be able to study their weaknesses before fighting them.

His parents would always tell him, never start something you don't know the outcome of beforehand. And he always listened to them.

He was going to change the world with this, and nothing would be the same.

* * *

"Glad that's over." Viridian groaned, the last class of the day wrapped up. He, Silvia, and Simon were walking out the front doors of the school.

Silvia laughed slightly. "Come on it wasn't that bad!"

"Fair," Viridian agreed. "The teacher didn't notice me sleeping." Silvia sighs and shakes her head in disappointment as the three of them get to the sidewalk. At that moment a tall boy with brown hair rammed into Simon, knocking him and his glasses askew. The boy turned around and snarled loudly.

"Watch where you're going Zlo."

Simon righted himself and held up his hands. "Of course my apologies."

Silvia however stepped in front of Simon, right to the taller boy. "You should be apologizing Neal! You hit him, not the other way around."

Neal stepped forward and peered down at her, a frown on his face. Then he turned his gaze to Simon. "Then he needs to stay away from my sister."

Simon's face showed nothing, except for a small eye twitch. "I haven't talked to her in months."

"Then stop staring at her." He growled and stomped off. The three of them stood there in silence, reorganizing their thoughts.

On the others side of the street though a man was watching them. He was an old man, and extremely ancient. A small red figure, no more than three inches hovered by his shoulder.

"That's the one for you Tikki." The man croaks, as he pointed at Silvia.

Tikki squealed in joy and clapped her tiny hands. "Yay! But what about Plagg?"

The old man watched them all closely. "I'm not sure. But we must find him one quickly before the stolen Miraculous is used."


	2. Chapter 2: Heroes Are Born, Not Chosen

Chapter 2: Heroes Are Born, Not Chosen

"I'm glad you had a fun first day!" Damian said happily, kicking the snow as he walked with Azure.

Azure looked over at the loud happy boy. "I didn't say that."

Damian shrugged. "I could just tell."

"Uh… okay then." Neither of them spoke for several minutes, the snow making walking a difficulty. They were almost to the orphanage when Damian stopped Azure, pointing at a girl sitting alone. "Ya see the girl?"

Azure sized her up. He recognized her from school. He was fairly positive her name was Nara, or something of the sort. She was very petite, her brown hair shoulder length, and she hide her face in it as she looked at her phone. "Yeah what about her?"

"Her twin bro owes me and Bates some money, you wanna help me shake her down." He asked, rubbing his hands together. An evil grin set in place. Azure noticed he patted his pocket to make sure something was there. A knife perhaps?

Azure clenched his jaw tightly. He wouldn't stand for that. "Excuse me?"

"A whole bunch of us run this betting system off of video games and what not. And last week Neal made a bad bet. So he owes some money." Damian told Azure. Who's temper was raising quickly the more Damian spoke.

"And you're going to 'shake her down'?"

"Yes!" Damian responded gleefully. Azure took a moment, then pulled back and slugged Damian across the face. Damian thudded hard against a fence, and fell in the snow. He scrambled to his feet, eyes wet but furious. "Why'd you do that? You bastard!"

"You don't get to do that anymore." Azure told him, standing firm.

Damian shook his head and stepped towards him. "We do what we want."

"I'll punch you again." Azure warned. Damian backed up slightly, looking at Azure's bald up fist. Seemingly thinking better of provoking the violent boy anymore Damian settled for a snarl and stormed off.

Now alone Azure took a slow breath, calming himself back down. Violence wasn't a solution he was found of, but it was effective. He should tell the girl he decided after several moments.

He carefully approached her, waving, attempting at a welcoming smile. "Hello, I'm Azure."

The girl looked up from her phone and smiled sweetly. Azure felt warm inside. She seemed nice. "Hi, nice to meet you! You're new in class right?"

Azure nodded slowly, uncertain about, well just about everything. "Yes I am."

"First days can be hard," Nara said wisely. "I'm lucky though I've never had to be alone, since I have my twin brother."

"Right." Azure said, scratching the back of his neck. He rarely approached people, so maybe there needed to be more conversation before he changed topics. Deciding that maybe he could piggyback off what she said he pressed forward. "That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"My brother?" She asked.

"Right." Azure repeated. "I think he got caught up in something bad. A few students seem to want to hurt him."

Nara tilted her head slightly, then smiled again. "Oh I know what you're talking about."

"You do?" Azure asked surprised. Even more surprised by her smile.

"Oh yeah! Everyone does."

"But… Damian said he was going to mess you up."

"Yeah, in the game! All disputes about money are handled through that!"

"What game is this?" Azure asked, his curiosity growing.

"That new Super Smash Brothers. Well any of them really." Nara told him. Azure shook his head.

"Oh crap." He felt like an idiot.

"What?" Nara asked.

"Well," Azure started looking guilty. "I thought he was going to hurt you, so I sort of, punched him."

Nara gasped and covered her mouth. Then giggled slightly. "You remind me of my brother. Acting without thinking. It's why he owes so much to Damian and Bates."

"Yes well, I guess I should apologize to him."

Nara shook her head. "Nah, Damian and Bates are jerks. He deserved it."

Azure nodded awkwardly. "Right… good."

Nara checks her phone and gasps. "I need to get home! You should stop by, we run a bakery!"

Then she ran off. Azure stood there watching her go. He was silently beating himself for hitting the kid. He turned and bumped into an old man. "Sorry." Azure grunted, catching the man so he wouldn't fall.

"Don't apologize my child." The old man said kindly. He patted Azure's arm and stumped away through the snow. Without giving the old man a second glance Azure finished his lone trek to the orphanage.

* * *

Silvia had finally walked home from school, anxious to start the school work she had been assigned. As she rushed to her room, she closed the door behind her. The last thing she needed was for her brother to come barging in and yelling at her for her shenanigans with that mysterious Miraculous book.

What was up with that, anyway? It definitely wasn't a book that Silvia had ever seen. And that's saying something, considering that she had been to almost every library in the city. Out of all the books she had every researched, there has never been a single result about the mysterious powers of the Miraculous. It's something that still avoided her, despite her countless hours of research. Why couldn't things be easier to find?

With an aggravated groan, she threw her backpack on her bed. Just as she was about to walk to her desk, she heard a small thud on her bedroom floor. Silvia turned around with a jump. She found that her backpack was unzipped slightly. On the floor beneath her bed was a hexagon shaped box with thin crimson writing that appeared Chinese on the top.

With a raised eyebrow, she slowly walked over and picked up the box. Silvia definitely hadn't carried this to school when she had left earlier that day. Heck, she had never seen it in her life. Whatever it was, it was in her backpack and someone must have placed it there. As she picked up the box, she realized how light the box was. Whatever it held would be something really small. No wonder she hadn't noticed it earlier. The more she studied the brown box, the more her curiosity grew. What was so good that someone felt the need to give this to her? Preparing herself for the worse, Silvia opened the box slowly.

The young girl could barely catch a glimpse of what the box held inside as a bright red ball of light emerged. She gasped and dropped the box. The light swirled around her and she held up her arms in defense. Suddenly, the red orb had stopped in front of her. The light dematerialized to reveal a weird looking pixie. It was completely red with a large red circle on its forehead. Thin antennas sprung from its head like a bug, almost mimicking a ladybug. It had a smaller body with a tri-pointed tail.

"W-What are you?" She shouted, almost stumbling back into her desk.

"Don't be afraid!" It exclaimed in a light, friendly voice. "My name is Tikki, and I am your kwami."

"A kwami?" She blinked.

"Yes! I am the guardian of the Ladybug miraculous, and you were chosen to be its wielder!"

"Wait wait wait." Silvia said slowly. "This can't be real."

"I'm sorry, Silvia, but this is as real as it can be."

She took a deep breathe as she she started to connect the dots. She glanced at the box and picked it up. It was a simple pair of circular earrings. "So if I wear these… will you grant me powers?"

"Yes." Tikki paused for a moment, which immediately unsettled Silvia. "How do you know about that? Most people aren't aware of the powers of the miraculous and their kwamis."

Her heart raced in panic. She couldn't rat out her brother like that. "I read a lot of news feeds, and something came across about a superhero that heavily relied on something called a miraculous," she thought of quickly.

"You seem like a smart girl, Silvia." Tikki gleamed with a smile. "No wonder you were chosen to hold this miraculous."

"You have me all wrong, Tikki." She placed the open box on her desk. "I'm not fit to be a hero. Heroes are courageous and willing to do anything to save people. In case you haven't noticed, I'm really the definition of a hero." She sighed and sat down at the desk. "I'm just a nerd who cares too much about information that no one cares about."

Tikki watched her for a moment before floating over to Silvia. "You're wrong, Silvia. You stood up for your friends when no one else would. That's something that a truly honest and caring person would do. If you are just as quick-footed to stand up for your friends, you will be just as willing for those of the city. There is potential in you that I haven't seen in many years. You can help us to recover what has been lost."

Silvia's head perked up at that. "What do you mean?"

"There are many different kinds of miraculous. I'm not the only kwami that is out there. Someone has managed to steal one of the available miraculous and it can pose a threat to the city."

Her eyes widened in shock. "The miraculous can be dangerous?"

"Only if they are used in the wrong hands."

Silvia paused in thought. The city was in danger, but would she be too cowardly to refuse to stand up for the evil that could plague her home. No one else knew about this but her. She could either save the city from this threat, or she could let it go and let destruction ring about.

"Alright," she finally decided. "I'll help return the lost miraculous."

* * *

"Round tones!" The vocale teacher cried loudly. Viridian rolled his green eyes. But recited the line anyway.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

"Good, but be more careful in your enunciation." The teacher reminded him. Viridian turned his bored gaze at the clock. He had three more minutes of this hell.

"There is nothin' either good or bad, but thinkin' makes it so." He drawls, not caring about the outcome. The teacher's face turned red, and they were about to bust when Viridian's mother charged into the room.

"Out!" she barked at the the teacher. Who quickly gathered their things and left. Now Viridian sat alone with his seething mother.

Despite the sinking feeling in his stomach Viridian decided he should speak up. "Yes mother dear?"

"Is it true the school has allowed another ill behaved orphan in?" she demanded of him.

Viridian knew he should've been upset by his mother's insulting tone, yet he was rather used to it. "I believe there's a new student from the orphanage yes. Seems like a dear."

"I'm going to have to speak to the Danvers, see if we can do something about the brat."

Viridian licks his lips slowly, considering his options. "Mother I think it'd be better if we left the boy alone. He just got here and everything."

"He's a detriment to your education!" His mother trilled.

"No, no, mother dear," Viridian said, sitting a little straighter. "The only thing that's a detriment to my education is me."

His mother turned roughly to him. "That is another thing mister. Your grades better pick up, or else."

Viridan held his tongue. Instead, he simply nodded. "Then I should go study."

"Yes, you should."

Viridian excused himself from his mother's presence and into the long hallway. One of the many in Viridian's over large house. Viridian hated his house, because that's what it was. He didn't have a home. Brushing aside his negative thoughts, he makes his way to his room.

His room was a two story mess of thing. Much to large for two people to live in, let alone one person to sleep in. However he was thankful for his card table, the only thing in his room he liked. Right now though he was in the mood for something else. That something else was annoying Simon, whom he knew was actually studying.

He grabbed his phone off of his nightstand and dialed up Simon. The phone rang a few times before Simon answered. "Hello Viridian."

"Hi dearie, how're you doing?"

"I'm studying." He responds in his constant monotone.

Viridian groaned loudly. "I knew that you dolt, I meant how are you feeling."

"Normal." Simon responded. Viridian rubs his forehead, used to this kind of conversation, but still annoyed.

"Simon what have we talked about?"

There was a pause where Simon appeared to be thinking. "That I should converse more."

"Good. Now tell me how you are." Viridian said happily.

"Well I'm currently reading about the rise and fall of different major nation states in the Eurasia area and-"

"Stop!" Viridian shouted, he was struggling to hold in his laughter. "Dude, you suck at this."

"I agree, you should let me be." Simon said, he tone not shifting.

Viridian shook his head, letting out his laughter. "Someday I'll make you laugh."

"Fine."

"I hate you."

"I know."

* * *

Damian tilted his head back, and frowned slightly. "You want me to do what?"

The tall unfamiliar man smiled slightly and held out a box with Chinese lettering on it. "Take this, and take revenge."

Damian took the box from the man, examining it. He'd ran into the man after Azure had punched him. The man was dressed in a very fancy suit. Clothing similar to clothes that Viridian wore. But whoever he was, he didn't care. Till now... maybe.

"Revenge?" Damian asked.

"Of course." The man said as he opened the box, and revealed a bracelet. Damian scoffed.

"How will this give me revenge?" A flash of black stopped him short. And a small horse like figure appeared. Damian's look of disbelief slowly morphed to one of greed. "This can give me revenge?"

"Yes!" The creature however tried to protest, but the man grabbed it before it could listen. "Mind not this pointless creature, you're it's master."

Damian carefully took the box, a dark grin stretching his face. "Damn right I'm it's master."

* * *

"It was my first day of school today…. yeah I met some people. This one girl named Silvia said hi. She reminded me of mom." Azure stopped, taking a slow breath and continued talking to the picture in his hand. It was a picture of his dad. The only one he had. "I'll try and talk to her more tomorrow. I'll try and talk to people more all together." He stopped again and set the picture down. Looking over the city through his window. The tower looked so pretty. He'd only recently moved to Paris, and he hadn't been. But he had every intention of going soon.

He laid down, looking at the ceiling. School was boring sure, but maybe it could be made better with friends. He hadn't had friends in so-

He sat up quickly. Something just blew up in the middle of the city. He dropped down from his hiding spot, just as his house mother rounded the corner. "Stay inside Požar!"

"What's happening?" Azure asked quickly.

"I don't know, go to your room!" She screamed, her face purple. Azure decided that now was not the time to push her buttons. Instead he went to his room like she'd said.

Once inside he grabbed the phone he'd stolen from the hiding spot where he kept it. Without hesitation Azure looked up the news websites to see if they'd updated. He was in luck, the local news had a live stream of the events.

They showed a boy in a skin tight costume reeking havoc. The costume was a black bodysuit, with brown gauntlets and shin guards. He moved faster than anyone Azure had seen move before. Including in the Olympics. And every time the person smashed one of the gauntleted hands into something it blew apart. The police didn't seem capable of doing anything. Azure dropped the phone and started tearing the closet apart, looking for something, anything.

* * *

Silvia was scared. She swung carefully through the city towards the explosions. Despite every bone in her body telling her to go in the opposite direction. But Tikki had told her that this was one of the miraculous that had been stolen, and she needed to go recover it.

Silvia landed on a rooftop, slightly out of breath. That's when she noticed her reflection. She wore a red skin tight costume with black polka dots. She also had elbow length black gloves, and matching boots. Definitely not her style. At least her brown hair was pulled back how she liked it still.

The rooftop she was on suddenly started to quake, throwing her off balance. Silvia carefully moved to the edge and looked over, spotting the masked boy from before. She was about to swing down when another voice spoke from behind her.

"Who're you?" It said in a Batman voice. Silvia turned around and came face to face with another boy, dressed in an all black outfit. It appeared to consist of sweatpants and long sleeve shirt. He had sheer black material covering his face, and carried a long stick.

"I could ask you the same." Silvia countered. "You look like you came from a Walmart."

The boy jerked his masked head. "You look like you came from Comic-con."

Silvia frowned and stepped forward, ready to fight. "Are you with that other masked bad guy?"

"No." the boy growled, in a overly gruff voice.

"Then who are you?"

The boy stood from his crouch and examined her. "Someone who knows what they're doing."

"I'm supposed to be here. My kwami told me about this guy."

"Uh, your what?" He asked, clearly confused. Silvia shook her head. This was literally just a guy in hockey pants.

Below the sound of screaming got louder and a small explosion rocked the block. Silvia spun around, looking for a way to stop them. The boy walked next to her. "Stop them, Ladybug."

"Don't call me that." Silvia hissed, then she ran to the edge and jumped off, swinging at the figure. Mid swing, she kicked out both feet and made contact with the masked figure. He went flying and crashed into a building.

The boy stood up grinning. "I've been waiting for you, Ladybug!"

Silvia threw her hands into the sky. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"You look like one." It was the guy with a fake Batman voice. He was back.

The horse guy (Silvia shook her head, she needed names for these people) turned in surprise. "Who are you? You don't have a Miraculous! Where is the cat!"

Fake Batman steps forward. "I'm... the Dragon, and you're going down."

Silvia stifled a laugh, the horse guy wasn't so kind, bursting out in laughter. "Right, well if that's what we're going with," The man crouched slightly, a smirk growing on his face. "Call me Stallion!" Then in a blink of an eye he'd rammed into the boy, sending him flying. Before Silvia could react though, the "Dragon" and righted himself and landed safely. He was an acrobat.

"Hey!" She shouted and then threw her yo-yo at Stallion. It hit him across the face and she jumped towards him. She jumped much farther than she would normally and over shot him by a lot. Silvia spun around just as Stallion rushed up and punched her in the face. She went sliding back. She threw her yo-yo up, wrapping it around a light post and used it to swing up away from his next attack.

Silvia scoped out the battle field and noticed the Dragon helping a few bystanders. She almost fell from her perch when she noticed that one of her classmates, Nara, was one of them. She looked fine, but Silvia knew she needed to end this fight and get the Miraculous away from this guy.

Silvia jumped down in front of the Stallion as he turned to face her. Stallion was right, Tikki had said there was a counterpart to her, a cat, that was supposed to be here. So where were they?

Stallion seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he was strutting forward, a big smirk on his face. "No help for you, Ladybug."

"Stop calling me that!" Silvia shouted, flinging her yo-yo at him, this time he caught it and yanked, pulling her in close. She managed to avoid the punch, and got behind him. She kicked his back and he fell forward, but caught himself, swinging blindly back at her. Silvia jumped out of the way, pulling her yo-yo in towards her and then spinning it around herself rapidly. Stallion fell back, trying to avoid the onslaught from the speeding yo-yo, but getting caught a few times all the same.

Stallion shouted out in anger, and thrust his fist into the ground, causing a small tremor that knocked Silvia onto her butt. His smirk returning, he stepped forward. "Lights out, buggy."

* * *

Azure liked his name. The Dragon. Sure it was the bad guys name on Arrow. But That guy was lame and didn't deserve it. Though Azure may be a little out of his weight class. He peeked out from behind the building he was currently hiding behind. He'd just gotten all of the pedestrians out of harm's way and was looking for a way in. Ladybug was doing a good job though, spinning her yo-yo around herself rapidly, hitting Stallion repeatedly.

These guys were fast, strong, and definitely had super powers. He had taekwondo, boxing, judo, gymnastics, and fencing training. None of which were helpful against something who could move faster than the blink of an eye. Maybe he could back flip him into submission.

Azure groaned, knowing that he couldn't do anything. As usual. He was about to leave when a huge tremor almost knocked him over. He spun around just in time to see Ladybug fall, and get cornered. Looked like he was going to do something after all.

He ran forward, heard Stallion deliver some villain one liner as he was raising his fists. Azure skidded to a stop and took aim with his staff, and chucked it. It slammed into Stallion's side, where it broke in half. Stallion jerked his head around, eyes red. He made a huffing noise and started stalking towards Azure. Azure held his ground, hoping that Ladybug would get up.

"You pesky ant!" Stallion shouted.

Azure kept silent, but raised his fists, ready to fight. Knowing that any resistance would be rather pointless. But just before Stallion reached him a blur of red hit him from behind, Stallion rolled over and received a boot to the face, knocking him out cold. Ladybug let out a sigh and looked up at Azure, who nodded once. He carefully spoke in his deep raspy voice.

"Good job, Ladybug."

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

Azure refrained from laughing, which was a first in a long time. Instead he pointed at everyone surrounding them. They were all chanting her name.

* * *

Wang Fu was having a calming cup of tea. He'd just heard the news that the holder of the Horse Miraculous had been defeated by Ladybug. Though someone else had helped her, he went by the name Dragon, and showed no powers. The boy who'd helped Silvia hadn't had any. Very odd. And the boy he'd chosen, that Azure boy, hadn't shown up at all.

Tikki flew in through his open window and dropped the box next to Fu, he smiled up at her. "Thank you Tikki. Now hurry back to your girl. She has much to learn about her powers."

"Yes master!" Tiki squealed happily but hesitated slightly.

"What bothers you, Tikki?"

"Master, where was Plagg's boy?"

Fu shook his head darkly. "I'm not sure Tikki, but I'm worried I chose poorly."

Tikki flew in close and rubbed his shoulder. "Maybe the boy just didn't find it! Maybe the boy who helped Ladybug was the boy you trusted."

"I certainly hope so Tiki." Fu said, looking at his record player, the place he secretly kept the remaining Miraculous. "Because the Butterfly and Snake Miraculous are still gone, I can't afford for another to go missing. Esspecally not one of the main two."

"My girl and I can handle it till Plagg shows up!"

"I know Tikki." Fu said warmly. "Now hurry back."

Tiki nods and zips out the window, leaving Fu to his musings in silence. He couldn't fight them himself. He was surprised the Organization had taken so long to strike. He just hoped the children had it in the ti fight such a powerful group.

* * *

Silvia was pacing in her room when Tikki had come back from her trip to return the stolen Miraculous.

"The Horse Miraculous is back in safe hands," she said.

Silvia sighed in relief. "Good. The destruction that boy caused… do the miraculous really have that much power?"

Tikki nodded. "Yes. They're unlike anything else on Earth. That's why giving them to the wrong person can lead to destruction."

"Right. Now that the miraculous is returned, I guess I'm done here." She moved to remove the earrings.

"Silvia, wait!" The kwami rushed over to her and pulled her hand back. "You can't take off the miraculous!"

She shot her a confused look. "What do you mean I can't?"

"There are still more people out there with stolen miraculous that can cause more damage to the city. The people need a hero."

Silvia winced at the word. "I thought this was a once and done thing."

"I'm sorry, Silvia, but it's not."

She frowned and sat on her bed. "The way they called my name when I had saved them… it was weird."

"How so?"

"Well, they chanted my name, or more like superhero name, like I was a legend. At first, it was weird. No one has really cheered me on like that before. Yeah, I have my friends, but my parents usually are too busy pushing me to run the family business to care about other stuff. Then… their cheers were invigorating, like it gave me a happiness I haven't felt before."

"It's because you're doing good for both the people and the city! And people recognize that. Not many people have the courage to stand up to those that hurt others, but you do, Silvia. It's why you were chosen, and you deserve that praise."

Silvia glanced up at Tikki with a smile. Maybe Tikki was right. She knew that she could make a difference in the world, and she, for once, could be noticed. She could bring peace to their city for once, one small act at a time.

She reached out her hands and pulled Tikki to her cheek. "Thank you, Tikki. It means a lot."

"Of course, Silvia."

Silvia paused for a moment before releasing Tikki. "You know, that boy that was there was interesting."

"You mean the Stallion?"

"No, the one in all black that helped save me from the Stallion. He called himself the Dragon. He didn't look like a hero to me, well at first glance."

Tikki almost smirked. "Well maybe he's that kind of person who is the hero you strive to be. After all, heroes come in all shapes and sizes."

She paused for a moment before a small smile tugged in her lips. "Yeah… something tells me we'll run into him again."

* * *

Azure was hiding in the tower again, listening to his house mother scream herself horse at Damian. Damian had been dropped off at the orphanage by the police, after deeming he'd been forced into doing this by darker means. But the look Damian gave Azure didn't bring him comfort. Damian couldn't know he was the Dragon, no one could.

Azure had wanted to keep that Miraculous Damian had had. He tried to convince Ladybug to let him keep it. But she wouldn't budge, insisting that she must return it to it's rightful owner. He'd given up, but he could've done so much good with one of those. He let out a growl and kicked his school bag, it flew into the wall and everything spilled out. Along with a small box. Azure blinked, it was just like box Ladybug had put the Miraculous into. Azure scrambled quickly over the small area and scooped it up. He opened it and looked inside, but before he could get a good look at it, a small black thing wizzed out.

"Oh god! About time!" a nasally voice said. It seemed to be coming from a three inch floating cat.

Azure rubbed his eyes and backed away, now warry. "What are you?"

It yawned loudly. "You got any cheese?"

"Uh, no."

"No?" It groaned loudly and floated to the floor. It sighed dramatically.

"I could find some, maybe." Azure said quickly, noting the interest levels change immediately. "But you'll have to tell me what you are first."

The small cat floated backup to Azure's eye level and nodded. "Fine. I'm Plagg, the Kwami of the Cat Miraculous. When you put on this ring and say 'Plagg claws out' you'll be transformed into a superhero. Got it?"

Azure picked up the ring and examined it, his heart beating so fast he could feel it. "You can give me superpowers?"

"You're a quick one." Plagg muttered, Azure picked up on the sarcasm but let it slide. He was too excited. He would finally be worth something. He'd finally matter.

"I'm the Dragon." Azure muttered to himself, slipping the ring on his finger.

"No."

Azure snapped his head up, looking at Plagg. "No?"

"No, I'm a cat, not a dragon."

"Right, but can't that be my name?"

"No." Plagg said fiercely. "There's a dragon Kwami. If Longg hears that my boy calls himself the Dragon, I'll never hear the end of it."

"But… but that's my superhero name."

Plagg shook his head. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

Azure huffed, crossing his arms. "Then what do you suggest?"

Plagg shrugged "I dunno, I'm a black cat. Black Cat?"

"She's a girl." Azure mused, thinking. It wasn't bad though. The it hit him and he smiled. "Chat Noir."

"Sure kid, whatever. Can I have that cheese now?"

 _Authors Note: This is a group effort. And way more dramatic than I was expecting it to be. So I wish I could add another Genre tag. But I definitely want to focus on the romance and humor. Now like I said this is a team effort. That team being Stitches04! They have work all their own on AO3 so definitely go check that out. They're the OG OG creator of Silvia and they're helping me out with her in this._


	3. Chapter 3: After It all

Chapter 3: After It All

Azure was on his way to school, Plagg tucked in an inside pocket of his jacket. Plagg had complained about wanting something warmer so Azure had found him a sock to sleep in as well. Azure told him he'd find him the best cheese he could find, but all he had was string cheese. But the small creature seemed to understand that he wasn't going to be able to afford much else.

His chest was sore, and when he'd woken up he'd noticed the huge bruise that'd formed where Stallion had hit him. Luckily no one would be seeing that anytime soon.

Azure walked up to the entrance of the school nervously. Damian had left earlier than him, so he was already at the school. He hadn't done anything about the punch while at the orphanage, and Azure's naturally suspicious nature led him to believe Damian would strike here.

Taking a shaky breath he tried to steady himself. Then he felt a surge of warmth and peaked inside his jacket at Plagg. "What the heck was that?"

Plagg snickered up at him. "You weren't going anywhere so I gave you a jump start."

"Uh, how?"

"Who're you talking to?" A voice said. Azure spun around to find Viridian leaning there. Azure gapped at the boy, unsure of what to say. Viridian however laughed easily, walking toward him. "Oh don't worry dearie, everyone talks to themselves. My name's Viridian."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well that's not surprising, I'm amazing." The boy said with a cocky smile. Azure frowned, everything about the boy seemed like a show. An excellent one, but a show. Instead, he kept his response simple.

"I just remember you because I talked to Silvia."

"Mmm," Viridian shook his head dramatically. "I'm always overlooked because of the pretty brunette."

"Uh right." Azure said, uncertainty about the boy digging at him. Viridian walked around Azure and leaned in the doorway to the school.

"Why'd you punch Damian?"

"How'd you know?" Azure asked.

"Simon." Viridian responded simply.

Azure glanced past Viridian into the school yard, where students were walking around. "Will there be trouble?"

"Probably, but just don't punch anyone again, hm?"

"Will they punch me?" Azure asked. Viridian rolled his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

"God damn kid, no one's going to attack you. Where are you from?"

Azure hesitated and shrugged slightly. Then sucking in the cold air, walked past Viridian into the school. Immediately Damian and another boy were there. This boy was short. He had perfectly combed black hair and a messenger bag. His silver eyes twinkled with something that unsettled Azure.

"Heya Blue, nice to make your acquaintance!" The short kid said, a large smile on his face. But the smile was far from friendly. "The names Bates, Bates Malpaha."

Azure nodded numbly, noticing for the first time that Damian had a black eye from where he'd hit him. Along with a few other bruises, most likely from Ladybug. "Silent type uh? I can respect that."

"No, he just hides." Damian taunted. Azure glanced at the boy, but continued his silence waiting to see where this went. Out of the corner of his eye his saw Viridian walk in with Simon.

Bates considered Azure for a moment and then clapped once. "Really kid, you just owe Dame here."

"He better not try and punch me." Azure said. His spoke softly, leaving no room for imagination on what he was implying. Bates held up his hands, an easy laugh issuing outward.

"Wow Blue, calm down. We don't fight here, we play."

Azure remembered what Nara had said yesterday. They solved their problems with the video game.

Azure shook his head, allowing a disbelieving smile to slide onto his face. "So you're saying you guys really solve all of your disputes with a video game?"

Bates shrugged slightly. "Sure why not?"

"Because this isn't an anime."

Damian coughed uncomfortably and looked away. Bates however chuckled in a fake good naturally way. "We got the idea from an anime, you got us, but it's fun no?"

"No!" Viridian called from the edge. Bates smiled across at him.

"It's a shame you and your friends won't play Viridian, it'd be fun to beat you."

Viridian smirked softly. "Tell them why we don't play Simon."

Simon looked at Viridian then at Bates. "Our hand eye coordination is sub par." He stated blandly. Viridian scoffed and slide off the railing he was leaning on.

"Dude!" Viridian shouted. Bates shook his head and turned his attention back to Azure, who'd watched that all in silent disbelief.

"What do I owe you if I lose?" Azure asked, knowing he'd lose if it got that far. He didn't even know what Super Smash was.

"Normal fee without previous bets like this, fifty bucks."

Azure blinked and glanced around, this was a scam he realized. They'd set this up to get money out of students. "And if I don't pay up?"

Bates laughed again, the niceness much less than before. "Well Damian has got the bruises to show for your assault."

And that was the kicker. A total scam. And they didn't have to lift a finger. Assuming they were any good at least. It'd be a little awkward if they weren't. The question though is why would anyone willingly compete for money against them? And why didn't someone stop them.

However, right now Azure knew he had to play along. He did need time to practice though. "Can I practice first? I've never even seen the game."

Damian and Bates exchanged looks, Damian made a face, Bates made one back, and this repeated back and forth until Bates finally nodded and turned to Azure, his weird smile still in place. "Fine kid, you got a week."

Azure nodded and immediately separated himself from them, bumping into Silvia.

* * *

Silvia usually set her alarm at least two hours prior to the start of school. The first hour she used to get herself ready for the day and to get breakfast for herself. The first half of the second hour was a time for her to finish school work, print stuff out, and to have time to herself. The second half of that hour was dedicated to getting to school and hitting her locker before classes. It's a system that she found always worked and got her plenty awake for the day ahead.

However, today was the day that her system failed her.

Tikki was the one who had awoken Silvia by nudging her persistently on her cheek. Silvia groaned and sat up in bed. "What's wrong?" She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"Your phone has been blaring for a while now," she replied in her usual high voice. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

Silvia's eyes widened in shock. "Oh no." She bolted out of bed and reached her phone. The time read 7:30 am, causing her to gasp. "No! This can't be happening." She threw her phone on her bed and rushed to her closet.

"What's wrong?" Tikki asked.

"I have school in a half hour! Oh my god, I'm going to be late!" She threw on an army jacket and a grey undershirt. "How the heck did I sleep in? I never sleep in!"

"Maybe the battle from yesterday took a lot out of you. After all, that was your first time in a fight."

"I didn't think it would take that much energy out of me!" She hopped into her black jeans and threw on boots. Silvia hurriedly shoved all of her school books and her phone into her bag and rushed down the stairs, Tikki floating behind.

"I'm surprised your parents didn't wake you up," Tikki exclaimed as they spiraled down the staircase to the main floor.

"They always go to work early," Silvia explained. "It's why I have to wake up myself."

"Don't forget to grab breakfast!"

She skid into the kitchen and grabbed a protein bar and a macaroon from the pastry cabinet for Tikki. After last night's fight, she was too exhausted to have fed Tikki. She was honestly surprised that they could be refueled via normal human food. But if the kwami are weird Miraculous spirits and not animals, how do they get rid of waste? Silvia shook the thoughts out of her head. These were not questions she needed to be asking herself while she was running late to school.

She handed Tikki her treat and opened up a pocket for her to rest in as Silvia burst outside and into the city. As she ran through crosswalks and weaved through dense crowds, she did some rough calculations in her head. If she didn't run into any red lights on her way to school, she could most likely get there within ten minutes, and that doesn't even include the five minutes it took her to get ready and leave the house. As much of a best-case scenario that was, it still wasn't enough for Silvia's mind to keep thinking about the worse. What if she got hit by a car on the way, or her luck sucked and she hit every red light on the way? Her breaths were quick and her heart raced at the mere idea of being late.

Silvia, a few minutes later, arrived at the corner of the school. It was as if her special Lucky Charm that Tikki told her about was active without her being in her suit. She still had time, but that time was precious and extremely limited. With determination in her eyes, she jumped up the steps of the school, two steps at a time, and through the doors. Maybe she could actually make today a good day after her mishap this morning.

Well, that was what she was thinking until she ran straight into the boy from yesterday.

* * *

"Silvia!" Azure exclaimed loudly, having pulled back from the girl. She looked incredibly frazzled.

"Late!" She shouted loudly, looking at him wildly. Azure took another step back.

"What? You're fifteen minutes early." Silvia looked at him, and Azure withered slightly. He immediately knew that she was not in the mood. She seemed to think better though and took a calming breath. Then another. Then another. Azure raised his eyebrows but held his tongue as always.

"Fifteen minutes?" Silvia asked quietly, huffing slightly. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and snow. Azure turned and looked at the clock for the school. It was now fourteen till eight.

"Well fourteen now, but yeah."

"Oh my god! What luck!" She wheezed, leaning over and taking more deep breaths. Her brown hair flowed over her face. She then turned her head up and blinked, her dark eyes sparkled against the white snow on the ground. Azure cleared his throat and looked away.

"Did you uh, run here?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual. He coughed, he wasn't shy normally.

Silvia stood up straight taking her last breath before smiling at him. Azure felt his own cheeks redden, but blamed it on the cold in his head. What else could it be? He tried to reason. "Yes, I did."

"W-what?" Azure asked, snapping back to reality. It was Silvia's turn to give Azure a weird look.

"You asked if I ran here, and I did." She said slowly. Azure nodded happily.

"Right, cool," he said. Then he tweaked his head. "Wait, why?"

Silvia groaned and rubbed her neck. "I thought I was going to be late, so I got here quickly."

Azure nodded and shrugged. "Well try and set an alarm?" Azure offered. Silvia rolled her eyes, and he realized that she must have already done that.

Silvia checked her watch and her eyes widened again. "God I can't keep chatting! I have to try and keep my schedule!"

Then without another word she'd run off. Azure turned slowly, watching her sprint up the stairs to the lockers. He was being foolish, he'd only known her for a day. And exchanged less than a handful of words.

Plus he didn't get lucky, ever. He got to be alone, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He glanced at the other students, who'd wandered off.

Right now he had a bigger problem. How was he going to learn to play that game? Simon may have said he was bad at it, but he knew everything. So if anyone would know what he should do. It was the blonde kid.

Azure pulled a smile, maybe he should thank Bates and Damian. They were forcing him out of his shell. Or maybe he should be pissed that they were forcing him out of his shell. But last night he'd promised his dad he'd be more open, talk to people. At least he was being forced into following his promise.

* * *

Simon stared at his reflection in the school's mirror. The events of yesterday bothered him, even if know one would ever know. The things the three people did out there, well at least two of them were beyond science. Physically they shouldn't have been able to do those things. Furthermore upon his examination of the videos there was no visible sign of gear allowing it either. To say he was confounded would be an understatement. He was far from fond of the feeling as well.

Simon ran his hands through his hair, to calm himself down. He looked at himself in the mirror, his face the same perfect mask of calm it always was. His expression or lack thereof was a product of years of practice. On the rare occasion that his parents were home, they always grilled one message home to him. You never show the way you feel, showing emotion won't ever get you where you want to go. So he never showed a thing. Not in his face and not in his voice. However, he also never didn't know anything. His eye twitched.

Simon left the bathroom, and his eyes found Nara first like they always do. Then they found her brother, who was watching him. He looked away from both of them, his eyes landing instead on the new boy. He was standing in the middle of the courtroom turning in a circle, looking for someone. After Damian and Bates attacked him they way they did, he's probably looking for someone to teach him. Which means he would need to know who could teach him, which meant he was looking for him. Simon followed Azure's gaze until it finally found him. Everyone came to him when they needed information. And everyone needed information.

Azure came up to him. The boy wore his emotions on his sleeves, at least some of them. He was clearly depressed, but right now anxious. "Hey, you're Simon."

"Viridian can help you." Simon told him, making sure to keep his voice steady.

"He can… what?"

Simon put his arms behind his back, watching the clock tick. They had two minutes till class. "He can teach you how to play." Azure let out a long breath he didn't seem to know he'd been holding. Simon turned to him, and saw the look on his face. "Now you want to know why Viridian doesn't compete in Damian's betting ring."

"How do you do that."

"It's not hard." Simon informed him, turning back to the clock.

"Well why not then, if he can teach me to win in a week, he could do it himself." Azure stated, his confusion clear to Simon. He didn't understand.

"I'm sure you know what it is."

"A scam."

"Correct, and a good one. Bates is the best player here, other than Viridian, so they set up a game and played everyone for money. They lost on purpose a few times, then beat them. Everyone, well nearly, has owed money to them at one point. And just like with you, they have money on everyone who owes money, so they can force them to play."

"That's… depressing." Azure groaned. "Why doesn't anyone do anything?"

"They aren't technically doing anything wrong. And they mostly target the rich kids, wring money out of them. I can't imagine that bothers you too much." Azure opened and shut his mouth. Simon was right, he was always right. Simon turned fully once more to Azure. "I wouldn't worry Azure Požar, you've faced much worse than people who use video games to steal from the rich."

Simon immediately walked away, the bell having run as soon as his last word fell out. Azure did not move though, the shock of his words pinning him to the spot. Simon may not show emotion, but that did not mean he didn't know how to elicit the right emotional response with his words. His wandering eyes found Nara again. He just wished he could elicit one other emotion. He quickly discarded the arrant thought. It was time for school.

* * *

Drey was excited, and barely holding it together. That horse guy was the perfect fall guy. He wasn't sure where he'd come from, but it was like a gift from god. Now he knew who his enemies were, and how to stop them. He could use his Miraculous and end that Ladybug.

Now it was just up to waiting for the right time. He'd finally opened his box, and inside was the Butterfly Miraculous. Which meant he could search for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous without ever leaving the safety of his house.

He grinned down at the book open in his lap, remembering how he'd heard about this. His parents were talking about it. Discussing these things called Miraculous. They had a few themselves, but if they wanted to achieve their goals they needed the right ones.

That night Drey had snuck into his parents' room and found information about an old man, the one with the Miraculous. That's when he'd made his plan to steal himself one as well. He wasn't sure what his parents were planning, but he had the power now. He would achieve his goals, and show them that he was the better child, not Silvia.

A small blue creature hovered next to Drey, extreme caution set in its tiny features. "Hello master."

"Hello, my name is Drey, what is yours?" Drey asked politely.

"Nooroo." The creature says softly.

Drey smiles gently. "Hello Nooroo, together we're going to change the world."

"Master, the world isn't meant to be changed, but to grow."

"No no, the world can't grow anymore. It's broken, and it needs to start over."

"Why start over and not fixed?" Nooroo questioned nervously.

Drey dropped the smile and turned seriously to Nooroo, who floated away a little, uncomfortable with the intense stair. "What's made broken can't be made better, it can only be made slightly less worse. If we want a better world, we need to start over."

* * *

The school day was nearly over. There was just one more period to go through. Science. And it in and of itself was over. Simon watched as Azure seemed to practically vibrate in his seat.

At lunch Azure had walked up to Viridian, Silvia and him. He'd approached them, standing more confident than before. Though there was still that same sadness. It always sat in his eyes. The boy's eyes slid over Silvia, longer than normal, but no one else would see it. They didn't see what he did. Finally though Azure's eyes settled on Viridian.

"Simon said you could help me." Azure said, his voice a forced calm. Simon was forcefully reminded of himself when he was learning to be what he is now. Viridian however has no such filter or care.

"Help you uh? Well dearie, it's going to cost you."

Azure squinted at Viridian. "That's stupid. I'm doing this because I don't have money."

"No no, not money, a smile!"

"Excuse me?" Azure growled. Viridian chuckled and looked at the other two.

"She smiles all the time, and I'm working on Simon. So I'm doing all I can to fix you early." Viridian quips. Azure's face however hardens.

"I'm not broken." Azure said. Simon glances at the other two for their reaction. It was clear that Azure didn't believe what he'd just said, however that wasn't news to Simon. Viridian immediately seemed to regret what he'd said. And Silvia looked sympathetic. Neither of this was a surprise either. He eyes wandered back to Azure where he found his first surprise. A smile.

Viridian was also surprised. "Well you did it, so I'll help. We start after school. Meet me out front. My driver will take us to my house."

Azure's smile immediately dropped. "Cool thanks. See you then."

The three of them watched Azure walk off, when he was far enough away Silvia had turned to them. "I feel bad for him."

"Yeah." Viridian agreed glumly. "But…" he said his smile slowly rose back. "He did smile."

"Do you know why?" Silvia had asked Simon. He shook his head slightly. Forcing the annoyance at the admittance far down. Silvia grimaced and turned around watching the boy again. Simon had turned his own gaze to the boy as well. He was more interesting than he'd expected.

Simon was tired of not knowing. And now that he sat in science, the class winding down, he did something he'd never done. He raised his hand.

"Then when they meet it creates-" the teacher faded away, looking at him. Simon kept his arm raised, his face the same constant mask. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and muttering start up slowly. He knew they were wondering what he could be asking. And if he had a question, how lost where they. Finally the teacher pulled herself together. "Yes Mr. Zlo?"

"It's about the events that occurred on the news yesterday, and the science, or lack of science rather, behind it."

The teacher nodded slowly. Knowing his question may be over her head. Simon knew this as well, yet needed to see if someone else had an answer. "What exactly do you want to know about it?"

"How could those two people possibly do those things, physically. The strength it would take to be able to pull off such feats is greater than anyone should have. At least appropriate to their size."

The teacher took a moment, and frowned slightly. Finally she went over to her computer and started typing quickly. "Let me watch the video."

"Understood, miss." Simon said. He'd watched all the videos himself. He saw nothing to give any visible hints, which was the worst part. The teacher made a little aha noise, pressed several buttons and up popped a video from the local news. She pressed the play button, and it loaded up. The video was from a distance, and showed Ladybug swing into Stallion, launching him ten feet into a concrete wall. Then it moved in and showed the Stallion getting up, looking no more than annoyed. The teacher paused the video and shut off the projector.

"I see what you mean." The teacher mused, looking at the computer screen. Simon hardened his gaze, watching the wheels turn in her head. He doubted the answer was something he wanted to hear. He said nothing, though, hoping against hope he'd receive anything other than what he expected. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Nara staring at him. He knew everyone was staring, but her eyes were the only ones that affected him. He wanted to look back, say something, anything, but the thought of her brother changed his mind quickly. "Mr. Zlo?"

"My apologies miss, can you repeat that?" Simon asked, caught out and embarrassed by it, not that anyone knew or laughed. If anything, he figured they probably thought he was thinking of some advanced math. Viridian knew though, and that's why he was smiling to himself. The teacher for her credit smiled sweetly.

"Of course. I only said that I can't see anything that explains how they are achieving this."

"I understand miss." Simon said, disappointed despite his low expectations. The teacher returned back to the last bits of class, rushing to make up for lost time.

Simon zoned out again, having read several articles and essays on the subject previously. He wanted two things right now. The first is an explanation on how they're doing it, the other is to talk to Nara. To see her green eyes look up at his again. To talk.

"Simon are you feeling okay?" Simon jerked his head, finding Silvia looking down at him. Class must have ended. He looked around, Nara was talking happily with one of her friends. "Viridan's right, go talk to her. Screw her brother."

Simon stood up, struggling to keep his normal exterior. "Her brother is correct, I am… a poor friend for her."

"Is it because you don't want to be friends?" Silvia asked softly.

Simon watched Nara leave the room, and groaned internally. "That, and I'm not good for people."

Silvia gripped his arm. He looked down at her, tilting his head slightly. "You're good for me."

"You make the people around you better." He reminded her. She blinked, then smiled.

"Thanks Simon."

"Do not thank me." He said in his monotone, then he picked up his bag. "I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

He heard her open her mouth, but didn't wait to find out why, leaving the room quickly and bumping to Nara. His eyes widened and backed up quickly. "S-sorry."

"Simon!" Nara exclaims warmly. "I've missed you! Why don't we talk?"

"I- um…" Simon faded off, struggling to bring back up his barrier.

Nara sighed loudly, running her hands through her hair. She hid slightly in it, her pale cheeks tinged slightly pink. "It's my brother isn't it?" When Simon doesn't speak, she stomped her foot, something like anger on her face. His heart dropped at her expression. "You don't have to listen to him, you know. You can do what you want!"

Simon clears his throat, refuting finally to his normal mask. "I do what I want."

"Don't lie to me, Si," Nara insisted, stepping in close. Simon took a step back, and looked away, carefully regulating his breathing. He couldn't show anymore than he already had.

"It is better this way." Simon said. Nara huffed loudly, Simon looked back, she'd crossed her arms. "My apologies, Nara, but I can't."

"You can, and you should. Because we both know you want to." Nara told him. She looked away and Simon tracked her eye line to her brother. Her brother was standing, watching with a look that eclipsed anger. "We're allowed to do what we want."

"No, I am not allowed to do what I want." Simon told her as he watched her brother. He struggled temporarily in what to do, carefully hiding it all from sight. After a torturous moment, he'd made up his mind. "I have to go."

Nara grabbed his arm, looking up at him, her green eyes peering at him. His heart seemed to skip a beat, and the two of them stood still, unmoving for longer than was normal. Simon didn't want to move, ever. "Do you really have to go?"

"Yes." He said slowly. After another strenuous pause she nodded, letting him go.

"Please text me." Nara said, something in her eyes. Simon nodded slowly. Then he stepped around her, and made his way down the stairs towards the exit. He was counting the seconds till her brother accosted him. It would happen the moment he hit the ground floor.

Simon took the last step from the stairs and his prediction came true, because her brother was suddenly bearing down on him. His breath hot and his anger clear. "Looks like you didn't learn your lesson."

Simon looked at him stoically. "Neal, I ran into your sister and we exchanged words, that is all."

"That wasn't it at all! You stopped and talked for ten minutes!" Simon tilted his head. Ten minutes? He wouldn't have guessed that ever. "Not to mention all of the staring!"

"I apologize, but we both know that Nara is stubborn, and will do what she wishes." Simon retorted. Neal steps in, their bodies pressed close.

"No not sorry, this is sorry-"

"Now you big Bull, what are you doing?" A voice called. Neal whipped around, clearing the view for Bates to come into sight.

"Go away Bates, this doesn't involve you!" Neal growled, now stomping to him. Bates looked about as worried as Simon ever did, which was very little. Simon righted himself and fixed his shirt.

"Shush, Bull. I don't want to hear it." Bates says, his own customary smirk in place. Simon wasn't found of Bates' smirk. It was just demeaning, not playful like Viridian's.

The difference was hilarious to see though. Neal was large and worked out regularly. Bates was small with a thin frame. Yet, no matter how much Neal growled or how menacing he was, Bates didn't seem to care. Instead, Bates looked past Neal to make eye contact with Simon. Simon returned the eye contact, knowing what his game was.

"Thank you anyway Bates, I can handle this situation."

"I'm not sure, Know it All. Looked like Bull here was about to do you in."

Simon hardened his stare. "I know what you're playing at. I'm not accepting your help."

He heard footsteps behind him, Silvia and Nara were standing behind him on the stairs watching. Hopefully they hadn't been there the whole time.

As for Bates he simply shrugged and turned away. "Someday Know it All, you'll wish I was there. And I won't be."

"I know." Simon quipped in his monotone, earning an eye roll from Bates. Neal stood in the middle ,looking confused, but also weary of Nara watching.

"I'll see you all around, then." Bates said with a wink to the group and walked off. Neal watched him go then carefully approached Simon again.

"Just, do what we discussed." Neal snarled.

"I have every intention of doing just that." Simon responded knowing deep down he hated doing it. It meant he couldn't talk to Nara. But it was for the best.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Nara looking at him, her green eyes wide and uncertain. She understood. She just refused to accept it. Or didn't want to.

Simon quickly turned around and made his way through the exit and onto the snow covered sidewalk. He did it though, because one of them had to. He knew it hurt them both, but it would hurt her less in the long run.

Simon tore his mind from thoughts of her, to his other focus: Ladybug, and how she worked.

* * *

Nara watched Simon go and sat down hard on the stairs. She saw Neal approach her and she brushed him away. "I'm going home alone again." She said crossly. He simply nodded, turned his back and left. Nara groaned and put her head in her hands. She hated this. She felt someone sit next to her and she looked over. It was Silvia. Nara smiled softly. "Hey Silvia."

"What's going on? Simon never explains."

"My brother doesn't like us talking." Nara said sadly, her eyes on the exit.

Silvia raised an eyebrow. "That's not his place."

Nara nodded, turning back to Silvia. "No no, I know. I wouldn't listen, but Simon does." She played with her short brown hair a little. "It's his parents, I think."

Silvia's eyebrows tensed in thought. "Maybe. Unfortunately, that's just Simon for you."

"He told me once they didn't like people who weren't wealthy. That they thought of themselves as superior to them." Nara said slowly. "That they would push him to find someone else."

Her eyes flickered in a hint of anger. "Your brother doesn't have the right to say that about other people, especially if he doesn't know them that well."

"Maybe. But everything seemed okay, until one day Simon said he was bad for me, and today's the first time we've talked in months." Nara stood, walking to the center of the now empty courtyard and looked up at the falling snow. "He never talks about it?"

Silvia tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket and walked next to Nara. "Not really. Simon usually just states facts, rarely stuff about his own life." She paused for a moment. "Maybe I could try talking to him for you."

"You'd do that?" Nara asked hopefully. Simon acted as if she knew why he'd distanced himself. But she didn't and it ate at her. If Silvia could help, well that would be more than she could hope for.

"Of course." She smiled softly. "It's the least I could do to help."

Nara smiled warmly and hugged her quickly. She let go just as quickly. "Sorry, got excited!"

She chuckled. "It's okay, Nara. I would do the same thing."

Nara gently kicked at some snow. "I just have a soft spot for him. He's got it so hard."

"You want my honest opinion about something?"

Nara turned away uncertain, hiding her face in her hair. Simon had told her once to never pass up a chance for knowledge, but it didn't come as easy to her. She liked to think the best of everyone. But she resigned herself and sighed slightly. "Sure, what is it?"

"From what I know of him, I think he may have a soft spot for you, too."

Nara smiled, maybe knowing things didn't have to hurt. "Yeah, yeah I hope so, too."

* * *

"Your room is huge." Azure muttered, looking around Viridian's room, a room that was larger than the orphanage he was living in. The house itself could definitely fit every single place he'd ever lived inside of. Viridian chuckled and shrugged.

"My parents bought it to show off, I think. It was probably my father compensating for something." Viridian joked, apparently happy with himself.

"Uh, right." Azure muttered looking around. They'd wasted no time getting here. Viridian had had a car pick them up and take them, and the driver was silent the whole time. Viridian, however, was not. He talked about the game, about teching and dodging and shielding. None of which meant anything to him, though he'd tried to stay focused to very little success.

Azure wandered around the rooms first floor. The was a grand piano in one corner. A little bit away from it there was a hot tub. On the other side of the room there was a fencing mat. Azure walked up to and looked over it. There were rapiers for all three fencing styles. Viridian walked up, controllers in his hands. "You fence?"

Azure looked over and nodded slightly. "Used to."

"Cool… why'd you stop?" Viridian asked. Azure sighed and turned his gaze back to the mat. "Just asking, don't stress." Azure blinked. He was being careful, wasn't he? He knew where he came from. Maybe he felt bad for having so much, or perhaps he was cautious after his mistake at lunch. Either way it seemed out of character for the normally crass boy.

"It's fine, don't worry around me yeah?"

Viridian examined Azure closely and then shrugged his smile returning to its full amount. "Well then, what's the story dearie?"

"I did it before my parents died. They took me everyday, and I learned all about it. Then they died, and my first foster parent took me as well. His name was Noir. He thought I had a talent for fighting. With him, I learned a whole bunch of stuff." Azure said, he jumped into the mat and made his way to the array of blades, examining them.

Viridian nodded in appreciation, following closely behind. "Well what happened then?"

"I fought people, people that I shouldn't have and I got sent here. It was made clear I wasn't to take part in those lessons anymore." Azure slide his finger along the thin blade. It was a beautiful one, he doubted it'd ever been used.

"Were you any good?" Viridian asked, going over to a wall and setting up the controllers.

"The best." Azure said, and he could hear the longing in his voice. He missed it, it was amazing, the way he felt when competing.

Viridian laughed loudly appreciation. "Cocky, I approve."

"Why am I not surprised?" Azure looked over at the boy and tilted his head. Didn't they need a T.V? Maybe Viridian knew something he didn't. He walked over, looking over the items he had. There was a thin black thing inside of a doc, which he assumed was the switch itself. Then Viridian had two sets of remotes, a blue and red set and a black set. But Viridian didn't seem to be using those. No, instead he'd gotten out two remotes that looked like old gamecube remotes, but they clearly weren't. Azure still couldn't find the TV though. "Where's the TV?"

Viridian looked up, something like confusion set in his features and then smirked. "Oh, wait for this. Go sit over there." He pointed past Azure, who turned and saw a coach more than ten feet back.

"Uh, you know I may not be a pro at the whole video game thing, but shouldn't we sit closer?"

"Trust me dude, sit back."

Azure shrugged and went over to the couch, sitting down on the insanely comfortable couch. Like, this is more comfortable than anything he's ever sat on. He looked around from there and finally spotted Viridian's TV, though it was at a poor angle for this couch. Maybe he should move it? He watched as the picture of the Eiffel tower was slowly replaced by one that featured Viridian, Silvia, and Simon in front of a christmas tree. "Was that last year?"

"Was what last year?" Viridian asked, walking over. He looked over, and saw the picture. "Oh yeah, almost at least. We spent the day at Simon's. His parents are never home, so it was nice."

"You all look so happy." Azure mused. Even Simon had a small smile, or at least it looked like a smile. It was a different expression than no expression, so it was something. Viridian shrugged and sat down, Azure noticed something in his face, but didn't say anything.

"Catch." Viridian tossed him one of the controllers and held the other in his hand. "You ready to lose?"

"Born ready." Azure said.

* * *

"That Know it All!" Shouted Neal, punching a wall. All he wanted to do was protect his sister. Simon and his family was dangerous. He didn't to tell her what Simon had told him, but he might have to. He certainly hoped Nara and Simon would stay apart this time but he doubted it.

He turned around, spotting Simon turning the corner. Simon had left the school just after him. No Bates to stop, no Nara either. He was going to make that rich, too smart for his own good, idiot finally stay away from his little sister. He started to storm his way through snow toward the corner Simon had just turned when something clicked inside him. Power coursed through him. Then a voice spoke in his head.

"Hello Destroyer, my name is… Hawkmoth, and i can give you the power to destroy the man you hate."

Neal rose his hand, his phone showing a picture of Nara, his phone was slowly being covered in darkness. "I can work with that. But what do you want?"

"The Ladybug Miraculous delivered to me!" The voice in his shouted. Neal grinned, feeling the darkness cover his body, and strength course through his body.

"Then I'll give it you, as soon as I handle Simon."

 _Author's Note: Yeah this is a leangthy one. And yes most of it doesn't focus on our main two. But this is more than just a Silvia and Azure story. Many of the mains (like the TV show) will be getting Miraculous of their own over time. So don't worry. They call in like Nino and Alya. Just very differently. I hope you enjoyed. Yet again this chapter was put together with the help of Stitches04! Check out her work!_


	4. Chapter 4: Damage Is Done

Chapter 4: Damage is Done

Azure was losing. To be more accurate, he had been losing for the last hour and a half. It didn't help that when Viridian had turned on his TV he'd discovered that it wasn't what he'd thought it was. No in fact it was the entire wall. And it blinded him. Eventually though he got past that, and started to improve. He's favorite character had quickly become Toon Link. It's fast movement and ranged attacks suited Azure in a way he couldn't describe. Currently he was trying (and failing) to beat Viridian in a mirror match.

Viridian's blue Toon Link jumped over Azure's and unleashed several quick attacks. Try as he might, he couldn't counter attack, no matter how hard he pressed the A button, and he was pressing. Finally, he managed to separate from the attacker and let loose his boomeranged ng, followed immediately by an arrow. Viridian avoided both, but put himself right in the way of a upward slash, that bounced the blue Toon Link. Azure grinned, making his green boy jump up and hit Viridian's with the spinning attack (Azure liked to call it the Beyblader)

"Let it Rip!" Azure shouted gleefully. Viridian was less amused.

"Do you really have to say that every single time?"

"Yes!" Azure shouted, as his character landed. Before he could react he'd been hit by a bomb and Viridina's character and slammed down on him, sending Link bouncing away. Azure shot off an arrow, but Viridian's Link rolled by, then caught the bomb Azure had tried to throw. "Crap!"

"I do it every time." Viridian said, and Azure picked up on the tiredness in his voice. Well then he'd have to wake him up with-

Viridian just killed him. He didn't even see what he'd done. "What the heck? What did you do?"

"Kicked your butt that's what." Is the snide remark that comes back. But after a beat, Viridian seems to remember what he was supposed to be doing. "You just weren't paying attention. You could've used your shield on the bomb when I threw it back to set up and counter attack, but you didn't. Then I slipped in and hit you."

Azure groaned, tossing the remote to the side. "I'm not going to win ,am I?"

"Dearie, this is your first time. You're a lot better than most at this time…" Viridian faded off, seemingly in deep thought. "Then again, I suppose most aren't trying to save themselves from blackmail."

"No, no I suppose not." Azure said dryly. He stood up, stretching. He wasn't used to that much sitting, and he was hungry, which Viridian found out the moment Azure's stomach let out a monstrous noise.

"Hungry I take it?" Viridian asked, leaning back in the couches cushion, dangling the remote loosely in his hand.

Azure rubbed his neck. "Yeah, sorry."

"Dude I think my family owns half the restaurants in Paris. You don't have to worry."

"Wait, are you serious?"

Viridian chuckled lightly, getting up and tossing his remote towards the doc. "Kind of. They mostly just dabble in the restaurant business. Most of their focus is computers."

"So you know a lot about that, I suppose?" Azure asked, his naturally curious nature showing. Viridian, however, didn't seem impressed by the question.

"No, not really, mostly just do whatever I want. Unlike Silvia and Simon, my parents don't care what I do." Viridian said. Something like bitterness sat in his voice. Azure let the moment continue, not sure what he should say. Instead, he turned to one of the large windows that overlooked the city. This view was ten times better than the view he had from his small window at the orphanage. It looked like a postcard. The snow drifted down, covering the window edges, hiding the city slightly, but framing the Eiffel tower. It lay in the center of the view, huge and magnificent. Viridian came up next to him and sighed deeply. "You want myrrh?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Wait, what?" Azure asked, turning to the other boy. Viridian has a mischievous smile in place.

"Murder!" Viridian said loudly. Azure however blinked. Utterly confused. Viridian seemed to pick up on Azure's confusion and pouted. "Don't you know any vines?"

"Vines?" Azure asked, and then remembered something from his last school. "You mean like, yeet?"

Viridian blinked and turned away. "So I'm just gonna get you some chicken."

"Uh sure, sounds good." Azure said and nodded, turning his attention back to the view when Plagg pinched him, hard. "Ow!"

"Are you alright?" Viridian asked. Azure turned around to see Viridian looking over, his forehead creased in concern.

Azure rubbed his side near where Plagg had pinched him. "Y-Yeah, but can I have some cheese as well?"

"Oh sure what kind?"

"Uhh… any."

"Any?"

"Please."

"Okay then." Viridian said, turning away, and muttering to himself.

Azure peaked inside his jacket and a snickering Plagg. "What the heck?"

"I wanted cheese!" Plagg whispers.

"Yeah, but ouch, don't pinch so hard!"

"Then think of me first!" Plagg ordered.

Azure groaned. "Shut up Plagg."

"Nah."

Azure felt "his" phone buzz and he pulled it out. A notification from the news lit up the screen. It read a simple message. The city was being attacked again. Azure turned around and looked at Viridian. He was on the phone ordering their food. He needed to find a way out.

"Hey Viridian, where's your bathroom?" Azure called. Viridian looked over and gestured up the stairs.

"The down stairs one is clogged, go up stairs. It's behind the bowling alley."

Azure sighed. Of course this guy had two bathrooms in his room. At least he could use them to become Chat Noir.

* * *

Out of all the times for there to be a bad guy, it had to be the time when Silvia actually had a lot of school work to finish. She had just finished up talking with Nara about Simon when they heard a large blast outside of the school, causing the ground to rumble.

"What was that?" Nara exclaimed.

An unsettling feeling rustled in Silvia's stomach. "I don't know."

"Where is Simon Zlo?!" A loud voice echoed across the air.

Silvia heard Nara gasp beside her, and it made her heart skip a beat. This didn't seem like the power of a Miraculous at play. She quickly grabbed Nara's hand.

"You have to find somewhere to hide," she told Nara.

She looked at her in confusion. "Why? Simon could be in danger! We have to find him before-"

"And what? We'll find him and we'll be in danger, too! Do you think Simon would want you to get hurt protecting him?"

Nara opened her mouth to protest but hesitated. Deep down, Nara knew that she was right.

"My point," Silvia said. "We should split up. That way we both won't be hit if he comes for us. Message me when you're safe."

With a quick nod, Nara ran off somewhere within the confines of the school. She didn't have to say anything for Tikki to come flying out of her pocket.

"What's going on, Tikki?" Silvia asked.

"I'll have to see it up close, but I think I have an idea on what it is."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Silvia and Tikki rushed out of the school and on to the streets of Paris. People were brushing past them, not paying mind to the red floating deity that was with her. Ahead of them stood a beast about 20 feet tall. He was in a black outfit with brown trims that made his muscles really stand out. His hair was spiked up in an absurd manner and a black mask covered his face. The two main things that stood out to Silvia were the light blue screen at the center of his chest and a purple wire frame that hovered over his face.

"This is just as I thought." Tikki said.

"What is it?" Silvia asked quickly.

"He's been akumatized."

Silvia blinked. "Are you sure you aren't making up words?"

"No, this happened a while ago. This villain me and the old Ladybug faced had the ability to send out this butterfly called an akuma. It had the ability to turn the victim's desire into their most powerful weapon and gave them the powers to do so."

"How did you defeat them in the past?"

"We had to find the object that the akuma is latched onto. It's usually the source for the villain's power. If you break it, the akuma will be free, and you can use your powers as Ladybug to purify it."

"What happens to the object and the person after I do that?"

"Usually everything will return to normal. The object is restored as well as the person and anything else damaged."

She nodded. "That's actually really convenient."

"I know!" Tikki grinned. "It's the perfect tool for Ladybug."

Silvia grinned and went back into the school, where she got the text that Nara was safe and secure. She shot her a quick text saying that she was as well before tucking her phone away.

"Alright, Tikki. Spots on!"

After a tedious transformation process, Silvia swung to the top of the school in her superhero persona. At this height, she was practically level with the villain, who had his back towards her.

"Stop right there!" She shouted out, her yo-yo spinning in her hand.

The villain froze and turned to face her. That was when Silvia gasped.

The face she had recognized as Nara's brother, Neal. What made it worse was that he was holding her friend Simon in his monstrous hands.

"If it isn't Ladybug," Neal said in a deep voice.

"Let Simon go, Neal!" She pointed a finger at her friend.

"I'm not Neal! I am the Destroyer!"

Ladybug raised her eyebrow. "Out of all the villain names you could have picked, that's the one you decided to go with?"

HIs eyes glistened with anger. "Don't tempt me. Actually… I'll let your friend go." The Destroyer smirked and suddenly released his grasp on Simon, who was plummeting to the ground.

"No!" Ladybug launched forward with her yo-yo.

Just before Ladybug could get to Simon, the Destroyer fired a blue beam from the rectangle in his chest. She frantically looked between Simon and the beam and grunted as she had just pulled up from the path of the beam. However, when she glanced down, Simon was caught straight in the blast's path and he was vaporized right in front of her eyes. One second he was there, and the next he was nothing but dust in the air.

Ladybug landed on the roof of the nearest building and forced herself to push back tears. She didn't just see her best friend be practically killed in front of her. And the worst part was that she couldn't save him. She was too worried about herself to save him, and now he was gone.

The Destroyer laughed in front of her. "The look on your face, Ladybug! It's priceless!"

Suddenly, her pain boiled away to an outright fury. He had stolen Simon away from not only her, but Viridian and Nara. And for that, she was going to find a way to release that akuma and teach Neal a damn lesson. No one messed with her friends or her city. But most importantly, no one messed with Silvia as Ladybug.

* * *

Azure bounded over rooftops, feeling like he was practically flying. Was this how Ladybug had felt? The power, the strength, the freedom? This was what he'd been missing, what he longed for. Now he could help Ladybug.

He landed hard on a rooftop, rolling forward and grinning like a boy. He liked his costume as well. The mask made his blue eyes glow brightly, and there were lines that matched his eyes across his collar. He also had guards and boots that matched as well. His favorite features though were his tail and ears. He liked flicking his tail.

Jumping over several more rooftops he lands on a low rise, which is about eye line with a giant twenty foot tall monster. "Oh damn." Then he saw her. Ladybug was swinging around avoiding blue blasts of energy. The eagerly was coming from a cell phone like thing on the center of the creatures chest. Except if a cell phone was double the size he was. He should do something. He patted his belt and pulled out a small cylinder. Plagg had mentioned he had a weapon. Wonder what it did.

Azure noticed a button and pressed it. It extended out to form a six foot bo staff. Now that's what he was talking about. He could definitely work with this. He backed up, and sprinted forward, flinging himself into the sky. He pressed the button again, and it extended downward thrusting him higher into the sky. This drew the attention of both of them, which isn't what he was hoping for.

"AH!" The creature bellowed. "The Cat Miraculous has finally shown up!"

"The cat?" Whispered Ladybug, looking up at him. Wait how'd he hear her say that? He didn't have time to think on that, because next thing he knew he was plummeting to the ground. A blue laser zipped past him. He needed to get to cover now. He glanced in both directions and saw a wall and then the roof Ladybug was on. This was a bad plan. He took aim at the wall and extended his staff. It forced him to the side and he rolled safely onto the roof.

Ladybug cake running forward, already spinning her yo-yo. "Who are you?"

Azure jumped up, grinning. "Don't you remember me?"

"Are you… the Dragon?" She asked, seemingly startled. Azure poked up his thumb.

"Yup!" But then Azure remembered his new name. "But I go by Chat Noir now."

"Chat Noir?"

"Yeah! Do you…. Do you not like it?" Azure asked uncertainly.

"No!" Ladybug said quickly, waving her hands. "I really-"

"HEY!" A huge voice bellowed, shaking the air around them. Azure looked over, and saw that the monster was closer and looked familiar. It was Neal from school, that Nara girl's brother. "Give me your miraculous!"

Azure took a step forward, he focused on being extra dramatic. "Nah!"

Ladybug shook her head. "I thought you were serious?"

"I was, but now I'm a cat." Azure said with a smile. Then he threw out his staff and it hit the center of Neal's chest, pushing him back. He shot off several blue beams, forcing Ladybug and him to scatter. She looked across at him, her worry clear on her face. But she also looked angry.

She waved at him, then at the monster. The message was clear. Distract Neal. Azure glanced around, not that it was necessary, Neal had just punched a hole in the wall he'd been hiding behind. Guess distraction was his job right now.

He dodged around the next blast, and deflected the next several as he sprinted across to the next rooftop. He was trying to get Neal to turn his back on Ladybug, so she had time to think of something.

"You're big and fat!" Azure shouted. Neal screamed and sent out a trash can sized fist at him. Focusing Azure jumped and landed on his arm instead.

"You ANT!" He bellowed, swinging his other fist down at him.

"Bail!" Azure shouted jumping off, and plummeting to the ground. The sound of Neal hitting himself reached his ears and he smiled. He extended the staff, throwing him back into the air. "Don't hit yourself!" Azure shouted, swinging his staff, and hitting Neal in the face. It barely seemed to register with Neal, but it tossed Azure back onto the roof. Neal let loose more lasers. He quickly spun his staff, defectling the lasers away. Hopefully she's hurrying up over there.

* * *

While Chat Noir was busy distracting the Destroyer, Ladybug was running through ideas in her head. The only obvious object that the akuma could be lying in had to be the screen that emitted beams of destruction in the center of his chest. However, it didn't look like the Destroyer would be willing to let her snatch it from his chest. And her and Chat Noir couldn't use their weapons to pry it out. Unless…

Ladybug suddenly remembered what Tikki had told her about her secret weapon. But she would have to use it quick or else she would de-transform.

She took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing. Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air and it spun. Suddenly, an item flew down at her from the air. Her yo-yo returned to her as she caught the mysterious item. The first thing she noticed was that she was able to see her reflection staring back at her. It was a mirror. How the heck was she going to use a mirror? Have the Destroyer get distracted by his looks?

She observed her surroundings. It was as if the world had gone black and white except for a few key things. Her "partner" was the first person to come up in a red with black polka dot pattern. Similarly, the screen in the Destroyer's chest and her mirror were quick to light up in the same pattern. Ladybug smirked. She knew what she had to do.

"Chat Noir!" She yelled out, pocketing the mirror. "Divert his attention over to me!"

"Over to you?" Chair Noir shouted. He rolled over and jumped over a beam.

"Yes! Trust me on this!"

"Well okay then!" He called. He started weaving around the rooftops and avoiding beams of energy until he landed next to her. A smile on his face. "Hey."

"Glad you could join." She waved her arms in the air. "Hey Destroyer! You said you wanted our Miraculous?"

The Destroyer turned to face them. "Yes! Now hand them over!"

"You can have them!"

"Yeah! Wait what?" Chat Noir asked, popping up straight and moving in close so he could whisper. "No, Ladybug we need these."

She nudged him in the side hard. "Shut up," she whispered. Chat Noir made a face, but turned silently to face The Destroyer.

"I can?" The Destroyer questioned, almost uncertain.

"You can! We're admitting defeat. All you have to do is hit us with your laser and we'll be vaporized, but not our Miraculous."

He paused for a moment then smirked. "Once you're gone, no one will be able to stop me from destroying all of Paris!" With that, his laser fired up for one last blast.

"Get behind me!" She commanded Chat, who immediately scampered behind her.

Just as the laser had fired, Ladybug had pulled out her Lucky Charm and extended it in front of them, with the mirror facing the Destroyer. His beam of light rebounded directly off of the mirror and hit him square in the chest, practically shattering the screen that had created the laser. Once she heard the shatter, she threw the mirror aside and jumped over to where the now crumbling Destroyer now laid. She landed on top of him, just in time to see a black butterfly with purple veins float from the screen. This must have been the akuma that Tikki was telling her about. Who knew such a little thing could cause this much damage?

"Alright, akuma. You're not causing any more trouble." She extended the yo-yo on her string and swung it at the akuma, which was caught inside the ladybug themed ball. She retracted it back to her and tapped on the top of it. The ball opened and the butterfly emerged. Instead of it being the infected black color it was before, it was a pure, bright blue, as if all the evil from inside it had disappeared. Seeing it like that made Ladybug smile.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," she said as it flew off into the skies of Paris."

"Uh. Neat."

"Well, thanks for helping me take him down." Ladybug smiled as she fixed her yo-yo on her waist.

"Of course, it was a lot easier this time." Chat Noir said.

"I'm assuming you didn't have the Cat Miraculous the first time we met?"

Chat awkwardly scratched his neck. "I did, I just didn't know."

She nodded. "I get it. It took me a while to know that I even had it. It just appeared suddenly."

"In your bag?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She responded, processing all of this. "Did that happen to you, too?"

"Yeah. Not long after we fought Stallion!"

She paused in thought. "Do you think the same person gave us the Miraculous?"

"It has to be, doesn't it?"

"Possibly. But this just leaves a lot more mysteries that we have to solve." She hopped down from the defeated villain and onto the street below.

People should be re-appearing around the city. "But we did it today."

She watched him for a moment and smiled. "Yeah. We did do it, as a team."

"I was mostly a distraction you know."

"Yes, but it was extremely essential. I wouldn't have been able to defeat him on my own. Especially after…" She stopped herself and cleared her throat.

"What?" Chat Noir asked, leaning forward.

"After I saw a friend get caught up in his beam. It was hard seeing that."

"A friend? Who?"

"Uh…" She paused. Who could she say that alluded that she wasn't a local school student? "It was… my cousin. Yeah, he was just leaving when the beam hit him. He should be back now, though."

Chat Noir's eyes shot open. "You should go find him, make sure."

Ladybug internally sighed in relief. Thank heavens he didn't catch on. "I will then. Once I set everything right." She grabbed the mirror and tossed it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A burst of pink butterflies swarmed around the city, returning people from their vaporized state and fixing any damage that had been done to Paris. The bugs finally ended around the Destroyer, who had returned to Neal with his phone in his hand.

Neal looked around, his eyes wild. "W-what was that?"

"It's okay," Ladybug assured and offered her hand to help Neal off the ground.

He looked around, sliding his phone away. "Where is Simon Zlo?"

Chat Noir learned in close. "Africa." Then after a moment. "Who?"

"Is he the person that you were searching after?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes." Neal said. Silvia noticed that something odd sat in voice. She glanced at Chat, who also seemed put off.

She glanced back at the boy. "Why did you need to find him that badly?"

"I just want to, uh, teach him something." He looked at the two of them before backing away.

Silvia's eyes widened when she realized exactly what it was. She reached out and took his arm before he could go any further. "Listen, kid. Whatever grudge you have against this Simon, you need to let it go. If you don't, the same thing that turned you will be back and you'll turn into a force of destruction again. Do you want that to happen?"

"Hey look, I appreciate this, but I don't know you and you don't know me." Neal growled. "So stay out of my life."

Chat Noir shook his head. "Dude, did you watch Lion King? Hakuna Matata, it means-"

"Shut up." Neal snapped.

"Ouch, rude." Chat pouted.

"I don't care if I don't know you, but we're just trying to help! Try to talk it out with Simon. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something about him that isn't just rumors and slander."

"I know exactly what I need to." Neal growled. "His family is up to here," he helped his hand up to his neck. "In shit."

"And who said that Simon is anything like his family? Just because you have standards set by your family doesn't mean that you have to follow them. Simon can make his own path and be completely different from his family."

Neal just snarls and turns away. "I'll do what I need to do to help my family." Then he started to stomp away through the snowy sidewalk.

Ladybug sighed. "I guess you can't help people who don't want to be helped."

"It means no worries." Chat mumbled.

She glanced at him and chuckled. "Are you still caught up on that whole Lion King thing?"

"It's important!" He said shooting her a smile.

For a second, everything seemed to freeze. Now that they were done fighting, she was actually able to study the superhero in front of her. The entirety of his eyes beneath the black cat mask were dipped in a radiant aqua blue, as if they had come from the sea themselves. Just underneath his mask, hints of freckles spotted his cheeks. Oddly enough, it was a sight that sent her heart beating in a pattern she wasn't used to and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It exhilarated her, but also scared her.

She smiled back, almost shy. "Yeah, I guess it is."

He let out a breath and looked at his clawed hands. "This is really cool," he paused for a moment. "Should we like patrol?"

"That's probably a good idea. Make sure there are no more villains around."

Suddenly, a beeping noise sounded from around Ladybug.

"What's that?"

She sighed. "That's the cue that I'm about to de-transform."

"Oh…. why am I not beeping?"

"Apparently it's because I used my special power. It depletes a lot of our kwami's power."

Chat nodded. "I suppose I should go."

"We could go patrolling tonight, if you're up for it?"

"Definitely!"

"Great!" She smiled as heat rose to her face. "How about we meet at the Eiffel Tower at 8?"

Chat tilts his head, and looks over to the tower. "I'll see you then!" Then with a smile he ran off, using his staff to launch himself into a roof and away.

Ladybug rushed to the school and slid inside of an empty classroom. Once she had locked the door behind her, she rested against the wall. "Tikki, spots off."

Her costume melted away and Tikki had reappeared from her earrings. However, the blush that was on Silvia's face didn't go away as quickly.

"Silvia, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah I'm definitely okay. Everything is fine!" She took a deep breath and let herself calm down. Breathing exercises always helped her, even during stressful tests. "I should probably go find Nara. Oh, and here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a macaroon for Tikki, who chose to eat in Silvia's pocket.

Silvia ran to the bathroom where Nara had hid during the battle. When she entered the bathroom, she paused at the door.

"Nara?" She called out.

It didn't take long for Nara to come charging out from a stall and to Silvia for a hug.

"Thank God you're okay." She said before pulling away. "Any word from Simon?"

Silvia shook her head. "None. But from what I heard, everyone that was affected by the bad guy is safe now. So Simon should be okay."

She let out a breath in relief. "Good, but can you still try to find out if he is? Simon probably won't answer me if I message him."

"I will, and you'll be the first person I tell when I do find him."

Nara smiled brightly. "Thank you, Silvia."

A minute later, Silvia was out on the streets of Paris, searching high and low for any trace of Simon.

* * *

Azure wasn't going home. No way, not after that. This was true freedom. A portion of him wanted to never go home again. He actually hadn't gone that for after leaving Ladybug. He had a decent amount of time before their meetup, so he was trying to decide what to do.

It was admittedly rather cold, maybe he could find a robber at a bakery. Though he somehow doubted that. He was about to jump off away when he saw Silvia run out of the school. What was she still doing here?

Azure hesitated and then made up his mind, jumping down towards the street, landing not far from her. He focused slightly, trying to imagine Viridian, then attempted to smirk. Just like how he did in that charming sort of way.

"Hey!" He called to her, he walked over, spinning his staff.

Silvia stopped in her tracks and turned around to find the source of the voice to be Chat Noir. What was he still doing out? "Oh, uh, hello."

"Whatcha up to?" He asked, noticing the weird look on her face.

"I'm trying to find my friend," She explained. "I'm worried he was vaporized during that villain attack."

"Well never fear, for I have saved the day. He's perfectly fine I'm sure!"

"Thank you. Are you one of the new superheroes?"

"Yeah, I'm the funny one." Azure said, fully accepting his lighter attitude. He liked it. It was better than being edgy.

"Well does this funny one have a name so I can thank you?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest with a smirk.

Azure blinked, and his own smirk turned into more of a smile. "I call myself Chat Noir!"

"In that case, thank you for helping out the citizens of Paris." Her smirk softened into a kind smile.

"Anything for you." He said, enjoying the mask. It allowed him to say things he normally wouldn't.

A faint pink tint suddenly appeared on her face, dusting parts of her cheeks. "Well, uh, I should probably go check up on my friend. Just to make sure and all, you know."

"Oh. Oh yeah, of course!" He said quickly.

"Thank you again, Chat Noir." She offered him a small wave before disappearing down the street.

He watched her go, and smiled to himself. Maybe his Viridian smirk worked. Wait a moment, Viridian! He left him ages ago!

Azure spun on his heel, bouncing back onto the rooftops, and using his staff to spring him even farther which each jump. He was back inside Viridian's bathroom in no time.

He quickly caught his breath and released his transformation. Then he exited to see Viridian eating chicken and watching something on his massive TV. Viridian looked up in shock. "Hey, I was rather close to calling the doctor."

"Oh sorry, I just think I ate some bad…broccoli. Yeah, it was old and uh. Green."

"Broccoli is always green."

"I thought it was white." Azure said coming down the stairs to see that he was watching Marvels The Avengers. "Why are you watching that?"

"Well you were taking too long and I decided to watch this. You want to watch it?" Viridian asked, offering a seat to Azure. He glanced out the window at the Eiffel Tower than at the clock. He had a few hours to kill.

"Sure, why not." Azure said, jumping on the couch. Viridian gave him a long look.

"What happened in the bathroom?"

"Uh?"

Viridian rolled his eyes. "Well dearie, you're much happier than you were before you went in there."

Azure tilted his head. Was he? He didn't feel different. Not really. Then he remembered his conversation with Silvia. How he could truly be, him. And he realized he really was happier. She'd made him happier. Though he couldn't tell Viridian all of that.

"Oh you know, sometimes it's the simple things."

Viridian looked around his huge room. "I don't really know."

* * *

Simon knew several things. For starters, he knew he'd just died. Second, he knew that Neal had killed him. And third, he knew that science was not the answer he needed. He needed to look into magic, and understand that. Learn how to use it. Before he even started to do that though, he needed to make sure Nara was okay. She would be at school.

He made a mad dash for the school, avoiding people still scared by the monster, and finding Silvia standing in front of it. Simon dipped behind the wall, staying out of view. He didn't want to talk to her, at least right now. A moment later a boy in black landed next to her. Based off of stance the boy knew her, and she knew him. Which is odd, because neither were acting like they knew each other. Very peculiar.

They exchanged some words and both ran off in different directions. He was about to make his way back towards the school when Nara came out the exit. She was holding her bag, her face flushed. Simon let out a slow breath. She was alright.

He desperately wanted to go to her, and explain everything. But he wasn't going to, he couldn't. Knowing she was okay would have to suffice. He turned on his heel, and made his way towards his house. It was time to see what he could find on magic.

* * *

Silvia was pacing in her room. "Okay. First patrol. Everything is going to be fine."

Tikki floated in place as she watched Silvia. "Why are you freaking out?"

"Oh, I don't know." She hugged herself as she paced. "It's my first big patrol as a hero, and I don't want to mess it up."

"Are you sure it isn't about something else?" Tikki asked with a teasing smile.

Silvia stopped and faced her kwami. "What are you inferring to, Tikki?"

"You seemed really flustered when Chat Noir was talking to you."

She scoffed. "What? Me? Being flustered with a guy like him? Yeah, okay Tikki."

Her face deadpanned, causing Silvia to sigh. "Fine. I may have a small thing for him. He really cares. He even came up to me after I transformed back, which was really weird." She waved her hand. "But it's most likely a silly crush that will just go away. Most studies show that a crush is only a crush, unless it lasts over six months. Then it's real. But it won't get to that because it's just a crush." She smiled.

Tikki sighed and floated in front of Silvia. "It's okay to accept your feelings, Silvia. What's not okay is denying them."

"I'll think about it tomorrow. You can help me make a pros and cons list for having a crush after school." She finished the rest of the dinner that was set aside on her desk and sighed. "Alright Tikki. Spots on!"

* * *

Azure had left Viridian's place after finishing the movie. It was good, though Hawkeye should've done more. Though I suppose it was a good six years too late to change that.

He'd considered going back to the orphanage before he went out, but he'd decided against it. He knew the longer he was out the more trouble he'd be in, but at this point he didn't care.

No instead he'd re-transformed, exploring the city. People had noticed him, pointing and taking pictures. It was cool to see actually, it made him feel warm inside.

Right now though it was eight, and he was late. So he was jumping through the city, using his staff to give himself maximum lift off. Until finally he landed in front of the Eiffel Tower.

"Wow." He murmured. It was huge, standing at the base like this was breathtaking. He couldn't see it, but somewhere up there sat Ladybug, probably wondering where he was.

"Beautiful, huh?" Ladybug asked as she swung down to the metal bars above where he was perched. Azure looked up and waved.

"Extremity." Then after a moment. "I've never been this close."

She carefully jumped down and walked next to him. "It's the best view in the city."

"I bet. I mean it's huge." Azure conceded.

"Biggest landmark in Paris. And it was the tallest landmark in the world for forty years."

"You know a lot." Azure said, looking over.

"Uh, yeah. It's just some dumb facts." She looked down at the city below them.

He shrugged, and followed her gaze. "I think it's cool."

"You do?" She looked up slightly, as if surprised.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't it be right? It's cool to know things, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Some people see it as weird. But I always like new knowledge. It's like opening a book for the first time."

He smiled softly. He wasn't exactly sure what else to say. Azure silently reminded himself to look up how to make better small talk. "So uh, patrol?"

"Oh yes! Patrol!" She straightened, striking a traditional hero pose.

"What're you doing?"

"I don't know. I've never done a patrol before."

"I just think it'd be a good idea. Why limit ourselves to magic enemies? We could do good against regular crime! It doesn't have to be like, a big deal."

She nodded. "Yeah, you're right. So should we just walk across the rooftops of the city?"

"Yeah… you know my kwami said we can use these," he held up his staff. "As communicators. We might not even have to do it together, cover more ground!"

Ladybug shrugged. "That's a good idea. But it would probably be a good idea to do it together. That way we can get a better idea of each other. We are partners now."

Azure glanced over, noticing the way she spoke. "Oh sure, if you think that's best."

"It'll be fun," she said with a smile.

"Ha okay, sure, let's do it." Then after he cast a slow look around. "Yeah, I guess we just walk around till we find trouble."

"Great! Then let's go!" She pulled out her yo-yo and started spinning it.

"We should try and get a police scanner." Azure said, extending his staff, holding it in a relaxed grip. "Then we can wait here."

"How are we going to find a police scanner?"

"Buy it? Though they might be expensive." Azure mused. He couldn't really buy anything, with his zero dollars to his name. He wasn't poor. He had no money.

She thought about it for a moment. "I might be able to get us one."

Azure blinked. "Really?"

"Maybe. However, I don't think I could get it by tonight."

"We could… steal it?"

Ladybug gave him a look like he was crazy. "You do realize we're supposed to be superheroes, right?"

"Well…. okay yeah good point." Azure muttered, casting his eyes to the side. "Well we can wait."

"But if we want to do this tonight, it might be a risk we have to take."

"True true." Then buffing his chest out slightly. "Though I think we'll be fine."

"Alright."

Azure let Ladybug take lead, watching as she swung onto a building across the way. He cast one last look up the tower, taking in its magnificence. Then he dropped his gaze to where Ladybug was waiting. He should hurry, shouldn't he?

For the next two hours the two of them patrolled the city, finding no more than a bike jacking, which struck Azure as odd, because who would steal a bike? The poor thief though was incredibly startled when the two masked heroes from the news landed next to them. Azure had chuckled loudly until and an old man with white hair and a matching mustache poked his head out. The man had shouted at them, calling them darn kids before shutting his window loudly. This had sent them both over the edge, laughing loudly.

But that had been a while ago. The two of them were now sitting on a slanted apartment buildings roof.

"Man, I don't know anything else will come up at this rate!" Azure said from his position on the roof.

"Do you want to call it a night, then?" She asked.

Did he want to call it a night? Definitely not. Ladybug was pretty cool. But most importantly he could be himself, like with Silvia. There was a freedom in being Chat Noir that he didn't want to give up. Though all things have to end he finally concluded. "Yeah." He said with a glum nod. He could feel his tone drop back to where it normally sat.

Ladybug seemed to pick up on it, because she tried for a light laugh. "We don't have to!"

"No, no I should get back."

"Home?" She asked curiously. Azure shifted, and looked over to her. It's not that he didn't trust her, but he didn't want to share his life story with anyone. The mask made it easier though.

"I think maybe, we should try and keep our not super hero lives private. Protection, you get it right?"

Ladybug looked taken aback for a moment but then nodded in appreciation. Or at least what Azure hoped was appreciation. "Of course. See you tomorrow, same time?"

Azure nodded. "Yep, I'll call if anything changes."

"Sounds good." Ladybug said. Azure shot her a smile before jumping down and towards the orphanage. A sinking feeling hit as he got closer and closer. Several of the lights were still on, which meant the house mother was waiting for him.

He landed around the corner and released his transformation. Plagg flew up beside him. "I'm tired."

Azure rolled his eyes. "Brat."

Plagg ignored Azure's jab, holding out his paws and clapping them together. "Feed me!"

"Jeez fine!" Azure sighed and patted his pockets, pulling out some of the cheese he'd stolen from Viridian. "I don't have a ton, so if you want the good stuff, save."

"Okay!" Plagg responded brightly. Azure wasn't convinced, but didn't have the time and energy to bother with the small cat. Right now he had to worry about his house mother.

Groaning and rolling his neck he made his way to the front door and made sure Plagg was tucked away safely. Azure took a moment to gather his wits and went in. The first thing he saw was her waiting there, in a chair.

"About damn time ya got here." His house mother growled, standing up. Azure gulped slowly, he could feel her anger radiating off of her.

"Sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry?" She barked. "Don't be sorry you rat, get here on time!"

"I'll do better." Azure muttered.

"I don't care if you'll 'do better' I just don't want to lose ya." Azure looked up, she didn't want to lose him? Maybe she cared after all.

"I'm sorry miss, you won't lose me."

"I better not, I count on the checks I get for the lot of you to survive! Now get to ya room before I tar ya!" Without another world she brushed roughly into the kitchen. Azure was left in the foyer, alone.

Azure gulped, trying to keep his mind focused. Today had been so good he'd almost forgotten one key detail: He was always alone.

* * *

Silvia had slid into her bedroom window and transformed back into her civilian clothes.

"I told you it wasn't going to be that bad," Tikki assured as she appeared in front of her.

"Yeah, you were right." She suddenly groaned. "Why did I go off on that rant about the Eiffel Tower?"

"You were just trying to strike up conversation."

"Yeah but I sounded like a nerd. I mean, I know I'm a nerd. But why do I care if I say it around him? If it was around Simon or Viridian, I wouldn't care!"

"Maybe it's because you do care around Chat Noir."

Silvia flopped down on her bead, arms spread around her. "I may need to start that pros and cons list sooner than I thought."

Tikki flew over and floated above her head. "But you had fun tonight, right?"

She nodded. "Of course I did. It was nice not being able to do homework for once and being able to just relax. It's… alleviating."

"With how hard you work, you need a break every once in a while."

"I guess I do." Silvia smiled to herself. "And it's great that I get to spend that time with Chat Noir. He seems trustworthy enough. But there was one part that took me off guard."

"What was that?"

"It was when he said that he was going back. Usually people finish that statement with 'I'm going back home.' But he didn't."

"You know what he said, Silvia. Maybe it is a good idea for you two to keep talk about your regular lives separate from your lives as superheroes."

"I know, Tikki. But there's this part of me that worries about him. Does he not have a place he can call home?" She sat up quickly. "What if he's homeless?"

The kwami rushed next to her. "I'm sure he has at least some kind of shelter. How else would he get the food he needs for his kwami?"

She nodded slowly. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Silvia. You're a kind-hearted person. It makes sense that you care so much about people, and it makes you the perfect Ladybug."

Silvia smiled and cupped Tikki in her hands so she could bring her to her face. "What would I do without you, Tikki? Oh! I should go get you some macaroons. You did a lot of work today. Stay here while I go downstairs?"

"You got it!" Tikki skimmered away while Silvia got up from her bed and went downstairs to the kitchen.

Drey was sitting there when she came down, and he seemed upset.

"Hey bro," she greeted nonchalantly. He looked up, whatever was bothering him made him agitated.

"Oh, hello."

"Is everything okay?" She moved over to the fridge and pulled out the tray of macaroons they had stored in there.

"Yeah, fine." He muttered, though it was clear that everything was very much not fine.

"Are you sure?" She took three off the rack, one for herself and the other two she stored in her pocket. "I'm here to talk, if you need it."

He scoffed slightly. "Yeah because you're the perfect child."

She had just opened her mouth to eat her macaroon and stopped. "Drey, I'm not perfect."

He stood up, glaring at her. "Really? Because you don't even want to follow in our parents footsteps, and I do! Yet they still want you!" He turned away, and ruffled his hair. "No matter what I do."

"You don't think that I have tried telling them that I don't want this position?" She shot back. "I'm just a freshman in high school! They seriously can't expect me to already have a plan for the future!"

"And yet I knew when I was your age!"

"Please, Drey. I can talk to them. You can, too!"

"Like that'll work." He turned back around and took a step forward. "Instead I'll show them what I can do. Next time, it'll work."

She raised her eyebrow. "What will work?"

He clenched his jaw, his eyes became guarded. "None of your business."

Her eyes scanned him with caution. What was her brother doing that he wouldn't even tell her about? "It is my business, since you're my brother. In case you forgot that bit."

"It's called a private life for a reason."

"You know what? If you want to be that way, so be it. I don't care if you don't even want your own flesh and blood to help you!" Her face grew hot with anger.

"How do I prove myself to be better than you, if you help me?" He shook his head, a demeaning smirk growing. "You're supposed to be the smart one."

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and I'll always be the smarter one. If you haven't managed to prove to them anything yet, it really shows how uncommitted you are."

Drey's eyes flared dangerously. "You don't know how committed I am."

"Well clearly I don't if even I can't see it."

"Well maybe you'll be unlucky enough to find out." He threatened. His eyes were still flared, but he drew back. He considered her for a moment before shaking his head. "Or maybe you'll get lucky. You should hope for that."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means watch yourself." He said. He turned away then, and started to head out.

She blinked as he walked away. Silvia had never heard her brother threaten her like he did just now. Something had changed in him, but how it happened she couldn't figure out. Instead of fuming over it like every other sibling debate, she took some deep breaths and went back up to her room with Tikki. She'd think about it tomorrow she decided.

 _Author's Notes: This one was done with major help from Stitches04. Check out their stuff on AO3!_


	5. Update

I'm still hard at work on the Chaper for this story. School started again and thus a less frequent update rate. However I am still hard at work. I'm posting this on both of my active stories. So if you read this one and want to read more of my work, look there!


	6. Chapter 5: Totally Not an Anime

Chapter 5: Totally Not An Anime 

The blaring of the alarm was possibly the worst way for Silvia to wake up. After the patrol that her and Chat Noir had gone on the night before (their third now), she wasn't sure it she would be able to face the day as her full self. As she forced herself out of bed, she let out a loud yawn. Today was going to be a rough day.

She walked out of her room and to the bathroom to get ready. Today was just going to be another boring day with school work and the betting match for Azure and-

With wide eyes she spit out the toothpaste that was in her mouth. "Oh my god how could I forget?"

"Forget what?" Tikki asked, flying into the bathroom.

"Today Azure is doing that bet against Bates!"

"Is that bad?"

"Yes! If Azure loses, he's going to have to pay a lot of money to that guy." She sighed and washed her face. "I may have to leave earlier than I thought to see if he's okay before the game." She patted dry her face.

"Then we should head out soon!"

"Definitely." Silvia rushed out of the bathroom and got ready for the day.

The good news was that Silvia had finished her homework last night. Now she didn't have to worry about rushing to do any and could head straight to school. When she went down to the kitchen, she was surprised that her brother wasn't down yet. Usually he was here every morning before she was. Now, it was just an empty kitchen with her and Tikki. She quickly grabbed a morning macaroon for her kwami and a bagel with cream cheese for herself before heading out into the streets of Paris.

* * *

Azure was not okay, not even a little. He definitely should've gone to sleep earlier. But instead he'd stayed up all night, practicing. Viridian had let him borrow his Switch, and now Azure could destroy the level nine CPUs. But he was nervous. Bates was good, or so he'd heard from nearly everyone at school.

Despite his efforts to continue to keep his head low, people still came up to him throughout everyday to tell him that. They never seemed to have anything else to say, just that.

Well, that's not entirely true, Silvia wasn't that way. She was never that way. He may spend most of his free time learning the game, or patrolling with Ladybug, but talking to Silvia at school was something else. She didn't do it because they were partners, or because she had to, because she wanted to. And it meant everything.

Azure stuffed Viridian's Switch back into the container and zipped it shut. He tossed it in his bag and a muffled yelp told him he'd hit Plagg.

"Hey!" The small creature shouted as he exited the bag. "What was that for?"

"I told you to stop sleeping in my bag!" Azure told him as he shook his head.

"Well I didn't listen." Plagg pouted as he zoomed over and sat on Azure's shoulder.

Azure chuckled, grabbed a pencil, and put it in his pocket. "That's on you, bud."

"Oh I also ran out of the fancy cheese." Plagg complained.

"I just got you more last night at Viridian's."

"I ate it all."

Azure groaned. "Why?"

"Well you didn't tell me not to."

Azure rolled his eyes and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I have to go, come on."

"Fine fine, but you better get me more." Plagg ordered. The small black cat zipped back into Azure's bag.

Azure glanced over to Damian's bed. Damian had left almost an hour before Azure had even waken up. To say the least, it didn't put his mind at ease.

Azure made his way down the stairs and out the door, avoiding his house mom on the way. The streets were still wet from the piles of leftover snow that had been plowed overnight. Faint patches of dark grey slush were streaked across the roads, once pure snow now turned to mere dirt by thousands of cars. The sky was a dull drey. It fit his mood.

Azure walked, taking back ways and short cuts he'd learned as he explored the city with Ladybug. They cut his time to school in half, which just meant he could sleep in more, which he did.

As he walked into school he knew immediately that everyone was watching him. How could they not be, after a whole week of telling him he was going to lose. He tuned them out, focusing on trying to find Viridian. He had to give back his Switch, they'd be using Bates's. He finally spotted the blonde hair of Simon, which meant that Viridian would be close.

Azure walked over, and found that he'd been correct. Just out of sight of where he'd been sat Viridian playing on a Switch, Simon next to him writing in a notebook. Azure frowned slightly. Didn't he have Viridian's Switch?

"Hey, don't I have yours?" Azure asked, pointing at the Switch In Viridian's hand. Viridian looked up, confused for a moment and then smiled and chuckled.

"No, this is mine. You have yours."

"I… what?" Azure asked, completely lost. Viridian rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. Simon set down his notebook he'd been writing in. Azure was momentarily distracted by its contents, or lack thereof. The pages seemed to be empty.

"I told you he wouldn't get." Simon said in his monotone. Azure hadn't seen the boy express any emotion or semblance on emotion. He was starting to wonder if he ever would.

Viridian shifted and sat up straight. "I'm giving that one to you." Azure looked from Viridian to Simon several times, slowly putting it together. Viridian was giving this to him? "As a matter of fact I forgot to give you these." Viridian said pulling out a doc, charger, and extra controller.

"I don't get it. Why are you giving me this?" Azure asked.

"I don't need them, dearie. I've got way too much. So you take that one, and I'll have this one." Viridian said, brandishing the Switch in his hand. Azure open and shut his mouth, unable to vocalize his thanks. Viridian seemed to get it though, giving him a knowing nod.

"About time!" A voice called out. Azure sighed, and exchanging a slow look with Simon and Viridian, turned around to face Bates. He stood across the way, a Switch Case in hand. Damian stood just behind him. "I've been waiting."

Azure swallowed hard, trying to embody a little of Chat Noir. "I've been here for like, five minutes."

Bates's didn't seem affected by the comment though. He strode forward, his swagger undeniable, right up to Azure. Azure stood firm though, his gaze strong. Well, as strong as he could muster.

"Hello Bates."

"Heya Blue, are you ready?" Bates asked. Azure grimaced and opened his mouth to speak. "Don't worry, I understand. This is a very big deal."

"Shut up."

"Rude. I mean, it can't really be that big of a deal. Fifty dollars isn't that bad, is it?" Azure clenched his jaw, trapping his words inside. Bates is right. For most people, fifty dollars isn't much. But he can't buy anything for himself, not even a hamburger at McDonald's. "Oh, maybe I was wrong. Well hopefully you won't have to pay up then, hm?"

"I said shut up." Azure snapped, unable to contain it any longer. Bates just smirked.

"I'll see you then, after school." He paused for a moment, a thought seemingly crossing his mind before he discarded it. "Bye now!"

"Don't." Viridian said as he laid a hand on Azure's shoulder. Azure glanced over at the boy. His green eyes reflected boredom, which wasn't what he was expecting.

"Is this the part where you tell me he's not worth it?" Azure asked.

Viridian grimaced nastily, his entire face sour. "Oh he's definitely worth it. Just wait for the game."

"Viridian's right." Simon said, stepping forward to them, slipping his notebook away. "Do not fret. You will win." Azure repressed a smile. Simon was always right.

* * *

Bates could barely contain his excitement. The money wasn't the goal of course. Damian would get that, he was the one who needed it. Something about freedom and whatever. Either way Damian refused the direct help he offered, so instead he'd come up with the little scam. After all he would never actually hurt any of the people who owed him money. The key was to make them think they did. It was just as effective.

He just wanted get another person to owe him. The more people who owe him, the more power he holds within the school. He could never get Simon, Viridian, Silvia, and a couple others. They aren't stupid enough to fall for the trickery. This boy however may be his in to getting them. And that is very exciting.

Bates knew he'd win. Viridian may have been training that blue boy for the whole week, but it didn't mean a thing to him. It would take… well it would take Viridian to beat him.

In fact Bates was so excited for the match as a matter of fact, that he couldn't focus on school. Luckily one of the people who owed him was rather smart. Not as smart as Simon or himself, but passable.

Soon the match would start, and Azure would lose. There was no way for him to win. Not with how he played.

* * *

"Why'd you tell him he was going to win?" Viridian asked. He, Simon, and Silvia were sitting at their table for lunch. Viridian had been forced to wait till lunch to as his question since neither talked in class for some stupid reason.

"Tell who what?" Silvia asked, frowning over her sandwich.

"Simon told Azure he was going to win today!" Viridian said.

"You said that?" Silvia asked. Simon simply nodded, which pulled a smile from Silvia. "That's great! That means he's going to win, right?"

Viridian shook his head. "See this is the power you have, Simon."

"I know." Simon responded.

"You shouldn't abuse it, dearie."

"I know."

"But you did."

"Yes."

Silvia clears her throat, pulling their attention. "What the heck are you guys talking about?"

Simon nodded just a little bit. "Bates will win."

Silvia gasped. "What?"

"Azure isn't good enough." Viridian said as he ruffled his hair. "We spent all week on his training. He's pretty good. But there's a reason Bates is where he is."

"Damn it!" Silvia shouted, several people looked her way and she shrunk down. Viridian repressed a chuckle at her behavior. It was rather amusing. "So it's hopeless?"

"Not necessarily, Azure does have a chance. Just a rather slim one." Simon stated.

Silvia balled up her fists. "I hate Bates."

"Most people do." Simon said blandly.

"I can't hate him." Viridian said. It saddened him, but it was a true statement. The comment earned the desired confused look from Silvia though. "We're too much alike. The biggest difference is he doesn't see it."

"You aren't the same! You're nice!"

Viridian pulled a face. "I didn't say we were the same! I said similar. Learn to listen dearie."

"Oh don't dearie me." Silvia warned, her smile giving her away.

"I'll do what I please." Viridian said warmly. "Dearie."

"You BITC-"

* * *

Being alone was safe. Or at least that's how Azure had always seen it. No one can hurt you if no one is close to you. The whole day had gone by without any unnecessary conversation. Well minus the one in the morning. Just a lot of staring. Which he could handle.

The game though, he was still worried. He wanted to talk to Silvia about… anything really, but she was always talking to Simon and Viridian. So he had started to remind himself that he preferred being alone.

Noir has taught him that people tried to make friends for two reasons. To take advantage of you, or cheat you. Azure was a competitor at heart. And this may not be his sport, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't win. Bates was just a punk ass kid, he would win.

Bates had told Azure that they would play in the game room the school had. So he'd say in it all of lunch and both breaks. He was trying to get used to it. The game room had a TV (where he assumed they'd set up, so he'd practiced on it with his new Switch), a pool table (no idea how to play pool), ping pong table, dart board, and bean bags. It was dark but still welcoming, which was definitely the goal they'd had when they designed it. Azure liked it, for whatever reason no one came in there during lunch. Maybe the dark wasn't welcoming to everyone? Either way he enjoyed it.

And that's where he was waiting. No one else was there yet, even though school had finished ten minutes ago. It was odd, everyone seemed excited about it, they should be here by now. Azure fiddled with the characters, knowing he was going to win, because he had to.

Furthermore, as Chat Noir, he's obviously a protagonist of something, so he should have plot armor. And plot armor meant he would win. Suddenly ,there was a knock at the door and Damian came inside. "Hello Azure."

"What?"

"We're waiting for you." He said. Azure frowned, waiting for him?

"I'm here, where is Bates?"

Damian leaned on the wall, seemingly attempting to mimic the way Bates acts. "He's in the courtyard waiting there."

Azure's eyes widened. "But he told me here!"

"Too many people want to watch. We're going to be out there." Damian said, waving his hand. Azure growled and grabbed his bag.

"Don't have a choice, do I?"

"No." Damian replied simply. Continuing to growl Azure made his way to the door, but stopped right next to Damian.

"I'll give you another black eye if you aren't careful." Azure warned. Damian blinked and his smile faltered.

"You wouldn't-"

"Watch me." Azure said as he leaned in close. Damian fell back from him, Azure however turned away then and made his way out of the room.

And there he was. Bates sat in front of a portable television, his switch attached to it. Damian was right though, there was a good twenty or more people sitting around to watch. Azure saw Silvia sitting there, she looked worried, which left him with a warm feeling. She was supporting him. She cared.

No, stop. He couldn't think that way. Solitude was safety. He could do this by himself. He always did and he always would.

Azure made his way down the stairs watching Bates. Bates had yet to notice him, and instead of watching back was fiddling with his controller. He had another out and was doing something with it as well.

"Bates." Azure said roughly. The boy in question turned his head away and sneered up at Azure.

"Hello there." Bates said. "I was wondering when you'd get here, we've all been waiting."

Azure's gaze hardened. "You said the game room."

"I did, and I'm sorry about that. But as you can see," Bates gestures around the courtyard. "We have far too many people to fit in the small game room."

Azure took a calmly in take of the cool air. "Why do they have to watch?"

"So they can all see with their own eyes who wins. That way we can't spin the story."

"Do you think I'd lie about it?" Azure asked, knowing he wasn't hiding how insulted he was by that. Bates however clearly didn't care.

"Now we don't have that option." Was the response Azure got. Something that did not please him. Azure knew he didn't have many options though and sat down next to him, pulling out his own controller. "Oh, you have your own?" Bates asked.

"Yes." Azure hissed, annoyed by Bates's surprised tone.

"Well Blue, I'm impressed, I didn't think you could afford that." Bates said simply. Azure growled and connected it to Bates's Switch without comment. Bates tossed the remote he'd gotten out for Azure back into his bag, and Azure repressed a smile. He'd gotten one up on the boy, and that could change the whole battle.

Bates went over to the selection screen but stopped before going to the character selection. "Do you want to be player one or two?"

Azure frowned slightly thinking. It seemed like a normal question. But part of Viridian's training was him outsmarting him constantly. Viridian was smarter than Simon in some ways. At least strategy. People underestimated the boy in green.

The question was a simple one, which meant it didn't have a simple answer. Why would it matter who's player one or two? The color perhaps? No that wouldn't change anything. Then what?

Azure looked over at Bates and saw the controller and realized the controller was a red herring. That didn't determine the default controller settings, but the name did. Bates must have messed around with them. Both most likely just to be safe, but in different ways. He wanted to make sure he had a clear upper hand. Then the answer was clear.

"I think I'll just make my own name." Azure responded. Bates blinked a few times, seemingly taken aback. It pleased Azure to outsmart the boy for a second time in only a few seconds.

They went to the character selection screen (after choosing three stock and no items on Final Destination). Azure quickly typed his name in and picked Toon Link. That's when he heard the first scoff.

"Toon Link?" Bates asked. "Okay then."

"What's wrong with Toon Link?" Azure asked, taken aback. Viridian had said he was good.

"Oh nothing. He's just a low tier is all." Bates said simply, selection Richter. "An odd choice."

"He's fine." Azure growled. But a small itch formed in the back of his mind. Was Toon Link inferior? He seriously hoped not. No actually it was going to be completely fine. This was about skill, and he could outplay Bates.

With the character selection done, Bates shot Azure a small smile and pressed the start button. It was on.

The moment the go disappeared Bates launched a boomerang of sorts. Azure quickly responded with an arrow, nullifying the blow and charging forward to slash into Richter. Azure got to him, and unleashed several attacks, then hit him up and into his up B, spinning around and dealing lots of damage quickly. Bates seemed to fumble next to him, then got out and used the boomerang again. This time it connected, and before Azure could recover Bates had sent a blue flame at him. The damage built up, and Azure mashed trying to get out, but instead Bates hit him with this whip thing, knocking him backwards.

"Damn." Azure muttered, flicking the movement toggle and jumping forward. That's when an axe came arching forward and connected with Azure, dealing way more damage then he was expecting. Bates followed the flying Toon Link, hitting him again. Azure grit his teeth and let loose his own boomerang, followed by a bomb and then landing and letting go an arrow into the fallen Richter. Azure pushed the small character forward and slashing with the sword. Bates had Richter roll away and get up, launching another boomerang attack.

Bates was good, but he wasn't as good as people had been saying for the whole week. Azure's confidence was raising the longer the fight ran on. Neither had managed to knock the other off yet, finally the Toon Link landed perfectly and Azure saw his opening, slashing immediately, and sending Richter flying. The explosion notified them that Azure had gotten the first kill and the crowd muttered in surprise.

Bates didn't hesitate in jumping back in, but was in his groove. He jumped over Bates's attacks, and sent multitudes of projectiles flying. Many missed, but it kept Bates away and forced him to move more cautiously. Azure, however had no such issues, and was landing blow after blow, bouncing around Bates's character.

Azure glanced momentarily at Bates and saw a repressed anger in his eyes. It made him very pleased. However his momentary distraction cost him, and Bates got several blows in, which sent him to the edge of the screen. Azure fired an arrow to keep Richter back, then caught the edge of the stage, flipped up, and slashed out. Richter bounced a few times coming up just in time to get smashed by Toon Link again, which launched him off the stage and out of the game for a second time.

"No." Bates snarled loudly. A few people shifted in the audience and muttering broke out. Azure could see Viridian smiling as he lounged. Viridian had taught him well.

The brief break ended as quickly as it had started. Bates had regrouped, and he was flying.

Bates seemed like a whole new fighter. The way he moved was completely different. It was fast, tactical, and dangerous. Azure couldn't land a blow anymore, even though he was fighting as hard as he could. And he'd lost a stock now.

Azure shot an arrow, Bates dodged it, shielded against the follow up slash and blasted Azure off the screen. He was down to one stock now as well. Things were tight. They were both at zero percent. But in only a couple seconds Bates had tied the game. He was as good as people said. Azure had been played. Hard.

Azure let his character sit in the respawn section for a few seconds, catching his breath. "It's over, Blue."

"Don't call me that." Azure snapped. He just received snide laughter in response.

Azure had to win, he couldn't owe Bates. He tightened his grip, and his eyes seemed to become more focused, like he could see every small movement in slow motion. It gave him time to respond to each of Bates's attacks, and return them. The fight evened back out, the two of them exchanging attacks and avoiding them with incredible skill and speed.

Somewhere in the back of Azure's mind it occurred to him he'd tapped into his new abilities, but right now all he saw was the game. Bates was amazing, but he wasn't seeing the game like he was. Finally he saw the perfect opening, and Azure side smashed right into him, his controller vibrated and Richter exploded off of the stage.

"YES!" Azure shouted, he'd won! He'd done it! He could feel his pulse returning to normal as he smiled in relief.

"Ha! Not yet!" Bates said happily, but his gaze was hard. Azure did a double take, and his heart sank. Richter had landed back on the stage. It wasn't over.

Azure quickly tried to strike with Toon Link, but it was too late. He'd given up his advantage. Bates slashed with the whip, and the screen zeroed in on the contact before Toon Link zipped off the screen, an explosion of energy coming from where he'd gone. Now it was over. And Azure had lost.

He'd lost.

Lost.

It was over.

"I…"

"Lose. Yep Blue, you do." Bates said cheerfully. Azure looked up, his chest heavy with dread. "I'll be waiting for my payment."

With that Bates got up, and left Azure to sit there, numb to the world. He was vaguely aware of people standing and talking around him, but he didn't look at any of them.

Where was he going to get the money? Fifty was more than he'd ever had in his life. He'd have to try and find some job. Or something.

Azure struggled to his feet. Everyone had gone. Except Silvia, Viridian, and Simon. They stood there, worry on their faces. Viridian opened his mouth, but he didn't want to hear it. Azure took a step back, and then ran off from them.

He needed to figure it out. He'd lost.

* * *

Viridian turned to the other two. "Now what?"

"Maybe I should go check on Azure," Silvia spoke up, pushing off of her seat.

"Given that he just ran away from us, I don't believe that's the best course of action." Simon responded.

She sighed, sitting back down. However, her eyes still didn't leave the path that Azure had taken out. "I'm just worried. Bates screwed him."

Viridian flopped down again. "Yeah well, were we really expecting a different result? No matter how hard we tried?"

"I was."

"I suppose any of us could pay the amount to Bates." Simon offered.

Viridian chuckled ill temporarily. "Somehow I feel like this guy has too much, I dunno, pride."

"Bates has the pride of an elementary school bully," A random voice popped up from behind them. A girl with dark brown hair stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Viridian had no idea who it was. So he did what he always did when he didn't know something, he turned to Simon.

"Who's this?"

"Kaia Meyers, she's in our class." He said dryly.

"Really?" Viridian asked, looking at the others.

"Oh, I recognize you," Silvia responded. "It seems like you have a grudge against Bates."

She scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Grudge is putting it lightly."

Simon flipped through his phone. "She, like many people, also owes Bates. Along with a few of your friends."

Kaia lowered her arms and placed her hand on her hip. "I took Bates up in a bet so I could get my friends out of their debts. I thought I had him outsmarted, but I'm sure he cheated."

"What's that thing he always says?" Viridian's asked.

"He says he never technically cheats, just bends the rules."

"In a way, that can be seen as cheating," Silvia pointed out.

"Thank you! Finally someone agrees with me!"

"Either way, what are we going to do?" Viridian asked them all. "He holds the power."

"Do what I've been trying to do," Kaia replied. "Find a way to strip him of his power. I may not have been able to do it, but maybe you three can."

Simon nodded in agreement. "Well, perhaps if Viridian would agree to participate, we could pull it off."

Viridian frowned, knowing that despite the hard look he'd get from other people. Simon was tired of his refusal to help. "Hey now, we've had this discussion."

"But maybe it could help," Silvia urged, looking at Viridian with softer eyes.

"Okay, so I challenge him. What's the stakes? He's not an idiot. He knows my ability. He'd be ready." Viridian said.

Silvia paced the path in front of the steps, deep in thought. "Then what if I learn to take him on? Develop my own skill. He doesn't know me."

Kaia blinked. "She has a point. Viridian could make the bet, and then Silvia could fill in at the last possible second. It would throw him off entirely."

"Possible. But we'd need to be careful in our wording of the bet." Simon said. "If we don't word it correctly, Bates wouldn't allow for a sub. We'd need room to allow it."

"And how can we do it in a way that Bates can't 'bend the rules?'" Kaia added air quotes around the words, clearly disgusted by the phrase.

Viridian raised a hand. "And keep in mind. Anything we put in to trick him, he can use."

"So we need to make sure that it's something he isn't the best at using." Silvia stopped in place, rubbing her chin.

"Well if we put in that we can sub, he could at the last minute." Simon pointed out.

Viridian waved a hand. "I'll teach her to play against Damian as well."

Kaia stood up straight in realization. "Viridian, how good are you at faking?"

"Ask your dad." Viridian replied lied with a wink.

"I don't know what that means." She blinked.

Viridian opened his mouth to respond but Simon cleared his throat. "It's inappropriate." Simon told Kaia.

Silvia waved it off. "You'll get used to it."

"Alright then."

"The point," Viridian said heavily, "is that I'm good."

Kaia grinned devilishly. "Perfect. Because I have the perfect plan."

Viridian reclined where he sat. "I like plans."

"Are you going to leave us in the dark?" Silvia asked.

"Maybe." She glanced around the area. "But maybe we shouldn't do it in an open place like this."

"Your dad also said that." Viridian said with another wink.

Silvia's face dropped and she elbowed him hard in his side. He shot her a cat-like grin and continued to lounge.

Silvi quickly coughed as if something had just caught in her throat. "I'm open for suggestions as to where we can go," she managed after the spell had ended. Viridian gave her a look as Simon spoke up.

"My house is open." He offered blandly.

"Great." Silvia grabbed her backpack off the floor. "Then let's go. We have some scheming to do."

* * *

"Good job. Thanks." Damian said, a forced smile on his face. Bates looked over and smiled at his friend. They were sitting together at a rather nice restaurant. Bates was paying, of course, Damian couldn't afford something like this.

It was their tradition. After every successful con, they'd come here and eat. It was also his way of getting more money to Damian. They played those little children games they provided in the kids menus, making small meaningless bets. Bates purposely lost, and Damian got more money.

Today though, Damian didn't look in the mood. He rolled his eyes and sat straight. "What's the matter?"

"I dunno, I just feel bad." Damian muttered.

"This was your idea." Bates told him. "I wouldn't gone after Blue if you hadn't come to me."

"I know, I know." Damian groaned. "It's just, now that we're here, I've realized that he's the same as me."

"He's a short black haired guy?"

"I'm not short!"

"Okay shorty." Bates said, smirking playfully. It was a much different smirk than the one he used for everyone else. Well, one other person got the nice smirk. Though, now that he thought about it, she might not know it was a nice smirk.

Damian smiled despite himself. It doesn't last long though, as it dropped away. "No I mean, he's just as poor as I am."

"Okay about that. You should have a few hundred dollars by now. How are you poor?"

Damian huffed, crossing his arms. "You know I'm saving it!"

"Right, for something important. So why feel bad?"

"I'm just imagining if it was me. I couldn't pay it." Damian said. Bates nodded and took a slow sip of water.

"I could always let him off the hook you know. Allow him a pass do to… oh I dunno, shenanigans." Bates offered.

"Shenanigans?" Damian asked blandly.

Bates rolled his eyes. "I'd come up with something better by the time I'd tell him. The point is, I could let him go."

Damian sighed, and banged his head against the table. "I need the money though!"

"As much as I'm sure you'll hate hearing this, I could always help you pay for whatever it is."

"Bates I've told you, this is on me! Oh, don't mind our arrangement, because I help! But I won't just take a pay out."

Bates shook his head. Another thing Damian had in common with Blue: unyielding stubbornness. Neither will allow the people close to them to help them pay their debts, or whatever it is Damian needs help with. He watched as his friend lightly bumped his head against the table over and over again.

"You've never told me what you're saving for." Bates said carefully. Damian immediately stopped banging his head. He looked up cautiously.

"It's for freedom." Damian said evasively, repeating what he always told him. Bates knew better than to push. Whatever it really was, it was best left alone, for now at least.

"Okay okay, just, eat your steak." Bates said. The conversation drifted away as they ate. Bates didn't stop watching Damian, though. The boy was conflicted and agitated. And Bates was worried.

* * *

Azure skidded to a halt in an alleyway. His breath kept catching and releasing in short bursts. This had all gone to hell. He was going to win, because he had to! And now he'd lost it all. The game, and everything else. He could try running away, though he was sure the system wouldn't look too kindly on that.

Groaning he punched the wall, screaming until his throat couldn't take it. He was going to punch the wall again when something tugged on his shirt. He turned ready to fight, but saw Plagg. The small Kawaii floated there, a worried look on its face.

"You have to calm down!" Plagg shouted.

"I messed up! I lost!" Azure screamed through his pained throat.

"I know!" Plagg shouted back.

Azure blinked. "Not helpful!"

"It's just that, you have to calm down! Or you could be akumatized!"

"I- what?" Azure asked startled.

"You remember the Destroyer? Yeah that could happen to you!"

"But I have you!"

"I don't protect you against- oh no!" Plagg whispered turning around in the air. A small purple butterfly was flying towards them. "You have to calm down now!"

Azure blinked. He couldn't be like the Destroyer. Shutting his eyes he took a slow breath, letting go off his anger and problems. Very slowly he felt the stress drift away. Opening his eyes he came face to face with the butterfly. It fluttered there for a moment, then flew up and away.

"That was too close." Azure whispered, shuddering.

"It's not done yet."

Azure groaned loudly. "What next?"

Plagg turned dramatically down the alleyway. "It's going to find a new host. We'll need to be ready."

"You should do theater."

"Ah, a play about cheese. Beautiful."

Azure chuckled. "Exactly what I was thinking." Looking down the alley way as well, his smile dropped slightly. Time to suit up. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

 _Author's Note: Finally back with a new chapter! It's been a really long time, but hopefully for anyone who does keep up, it'll be worth it! Another huge shout out to Stitches04 for the amazing help on writing this chapter! Go read her work!_


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